HCM CITY — New York, famously known as the “city that never sleeps,” will soon be joined by HCM City, which is aspiring to that status in an effort to step up its tourism game.

The city, formerly known as Sài Gòn and the “Pearl of the Orient” in the early twentieth century, receives an average of 400,000 foreign tourists each month, generating revenues of thousands of billions of đồng, but some experts say it lacks night attractions that meet the demands of tourists looking to explore the city’s night life.

Lã Quốc Khánh, deputy director of the National Department of Tourism, said his office has found a real need among tourists to stay up late and explore the local night life.

“Some 30-40 per cent of national and international tourists want to go out after midnight, as well as 60-70 per cent of local citizens,” he told the Tuổi Trẻ newspaper, adding that the majority of foreign tourists typically suffer jet lag due to time differences and can only fall asleep after 2-3am. Continue reading “Sleepless in HCM City: a tourism initiative” →