HCM City (VNS/VNA) - New York, famously known as the “city that neversleeps,” will soon be joined by Ho Chi Minh City, which is aspiring to thatstatus in an effort to step up its tourism game.

The city, formerly known as Sai Gon and the “Pearl of the Orient”in the early 20th century, receives an average of 400,000 foreign tourists eachmonth, generating revenues of thousands of billions of VND, but someexperts said it lacks night attractions that meet the demands of touristslooking to explore the city’s night life. 

La Quoc Khanh, Deputy Director of the National Department ofTourism, said his office has found a real need among tourists to stay uplate and explore the local night life.

“Some 30-40 percent of national and international tourists want togo out after midnight, as well as 60-70 percent of local citizens,” he told the TuoiTre newspaper, adding that the majority of foreign tourists typicallysuffer jet lag due to time differences and can only fall asleep after2-3am.

“Only some 10 percent of guests at motels in central areas of thecity get back before midnight, most of them are elderly,” he said.

To turn tourism into a spearhead economy for city, a conference ondeveloping the industry was held recently by the HCM City Party Committee.Attending the meeting were senior city officials, representatives of travelagencies and tourism experts. 

Vo Anh Tai, deputy director of tour operator Saigontourist, saidthe city’s lack of night tourist attractions was one of the factors weighingthe industry down.

“Even though we provide a variety of sightseeing tours during theday, the city’s tourism scene at night is considered by many tourists to berather monotonous and lacking cultural authenticity,” he said. 

“We need to give tourists the impression that HCM City is a citythat never sleeps by developing more night entertainment activities,festivals, large-scale shopping centres, and holding at least one major eventper month," he said. 

Despite being the few places in the city where foreign touristscan hang out at night, there are curfews on the  majority of restaurantsand clubs, including the Bui Vien ’Western Street,’ said Vo Tran Quoc Thang, acity resident.

"After leaving the restaurants at 11pm, my foreign friendsand I like having a second round at the Western Street, but establishments onthe street are often not allowed to open that late," he said.

"There was a time when we were watching a street performance,the artists had to get up and run in the middle of the show, because they wereshooed away by the city’s guards," he added. "It wasn’t a pleasantsight at all."

In contrast to the locals’ eagerness to make HCM City moreentertaining, some foreign tourists are fine with what itcan offer at the moment.

Anthony Griffiths, a Canadian tourist who visited the city lastyear, said he enjoyed the local food, clubs, beer, markets. "Greatstreet food. Not many, but nice clubs," he said. 

"I don’t think the city - and Vietnam in general - needs todevelop more tourist attractions, because it will lose its identitywhen it is commercialised," he said. 

How to manage the ‘never sleep’ areas is a major concern for bothauthorities and citizens. 

Phan Thanh Dat, an illustrator living in the city, supports theidea, but said that the parts that ‘never sleep’ should be managed carefully sothat they would not affect the residential areas.

“I’m living next to a commercial complex consisting of severalrestaurants, pubs and karaoke parlours, which constantly causes trafficcongestions and exhausts neighbours with noise,” he said. 

“I’m really concerned about where the authorities are planning todevelop these ‘never sleep’ areas,” he said. 

Khanh said these areas would not be limited to downtown District 1alone.

The ‘Western Street’ model on Bui Vien Street can be replicated onHai Ba Trung Street (also in District 1) and Chau Van Liem Street in District5, he said. 

Businesses operating on these streets would have to register withthe city (to remain open throughout the night), he added.

The city’s regulations would need to be changed in order for theidea to be effective, while still ensuring urban order, he added. 

He proposed that major restaurants and hotels of 3-5 star statusshould be allowed to operate after midnight upon request. "Many of themhave real need to do so, but aren’t allowed by current regulations," hesaid.

The process of actualising the idea must be planned carefullywithout rush, he added.

The areas identified would have to meet certain standards, and newregulations on types of services that businesses can offer in these areas mustbe regulated carefully, Khanh said.-VNA