DISCOVERING POTENTIAL FOR SUSTAINABLE WATERWAY TOURISM IN HO CHI MINH CITY
, 04/11/2020 09:11
On October 17th, 2020, the Center for Vietnamese and Southeast Asian Studies (CVSEAS) conducted fieldwork on the Nhieu Loc Canal, Ho Chi Minh City as part of Work Package 4 of project TOURIST*. The occasion also doubled as an opportunity for consultation between experts on the development of sustainable waterway tourism on the Nhieu Loc Canal.
During the fieldwork, members of CVSEAS had the pleasure of hearing Mr. Phan Xuan Anh – Chairman of Saigon Boat, give an introduction on the development history of various boat tour services on the Nhieu Loc Canal. Key information from his presentation included the utilization of 9 kilometers of the waterway for tourism activities––from 1 Hoang Sa Street, District 1 to Le Van Sy bridge, District 3. On main segment of tourists, Mr. Anh revealed foreign tourists such as American, Australian, German, French, etc. dominated the waterway tourism industry. On future plans for Saigon Boat Tour, 2 new services would be introduced. First is nighttime boat tours of the city. Second is history boat tours where tales of Vietnam’s history would be unfolded by exploring meanings behind the names of the many bridges along the Canal. In addition, an initiative was made to include the Nhieu Loc Canal in the City Tour’s cruise itinerary.
Mr Nguyễn Xuân Anh - Chairman of SaigonBoat introduces about travel services on the Nhieu Loc canal.
During the consultation, Mr. Nguyen Van My – Chairman of the Members' Council of Lua Viet Tours Co., Ltd. highlighted the significance of the Nhieu Loc Canal in old-time Saigon and present-day Ho Chi Minh City: from acting as protection for the Citadel of Gia Dinh to regulating water sources and redirecting wastewater from inner city districts to the Ba Son wastewater treatment plant. Despite being regarded as the potential Little Venice of Vietnam, the Nhieu Loc Canal was once severely polluted in the 1960s due to rapid urbanization. It wasn’t until the early 2000s that the Canal received a complete makeover worth 200 million USD of borrowed resources from the World Bank.
Students participating in TOURIST project and CVSEAS’s research team enjoy dinner on the boat.
CVSEAS’s team takes a group photo with the violinist performing on the boat.
Concluding the consultation, Mr. Nguyen Van My expressed his wish for collective efforts in preserving the Nhieu Loc Canal and for more diverse tourism activities on the Canal, such as flower boat tours, floating markets, etc.
Mr Nguyễn Văn Mỹ (third person from the left) and students participating in TOURIST project take a group photo.
*TOURIST, "Development of Sustainable Tourism and Innovative Financial Management Strategies to increase the positive impact of local tourism in Thailand and Vietnam", is a three-year project spanning from 2017 to 2020. The project is funded by the EU’s Eramus+ and overseen by FH Joanneum (Austria); other associates including Hanoi University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Hue University, and Ho Chi Minh University of Social Sciences and Humanities.
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