Ho Chi Minh City waterway tourism struggles to stay afloat

The lack of inland waterway ports is one of the bottlenecks holding back the development of waterway tourism in Ho Chi Minh City. The problem that has been lingering for many years was brought up again by many surviving businesses at the Workshop on 'Developing waterway transport connecting tourism' organized by the Ho Chi Minh City Institute for Development Studies in early September.

According to Mr. Anh from Viet Travel, the company that has invested in tourist boat services on Nhieu Loc Canal since 2014. The green canal water is thanks to the Ho Chi Minh City Environmental Sanitation Project (Nhieu Loc - Thi Nghe Canal Basin) using loans from the World Bank. However, after about 3 years of odor treatment, the inner-city tourist route can be put into operation.

Unfortunately, for more than a year, this tourist route has been forced to suspend after the Government Decree amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decree 08/2021 regulating the management of waterway activities. The authority to re-announce and extend the annual operation of inland waterway terminals, which used to be under the authority of the Department of Transport, has been delegated to the People's Committees of districts with inland waterway terminals.

After the district-level administrative unit was abolished from July 2025, the authority was transferred to the ward. Up to now, the enterprise has not been granted an extension of operation due to regulations on public land use. The enterprise still has to maintain an operating team. The boat runs without passengers, the transports quickly breaks down.

Policy changes do not only come from the central government. Mr. Lam from Dong Duong Sailing - recalled the decision of the city leaders to close Bach Dang wharf 10 years ago because it "affected the city's facade". The decision was announced about a week before the annual renewal date. Dozens of businesses called for help but failed. Many businesses sold assets, dissolved their companies, very few survived. Building a business is extremely difficult but can easily collapse with an administrative order. The national strength is not only damaged, but also creates uncertainty for investors.

Agreed with Mr. Lam, Ms. Hanh from Les Rives company, said that waterway tourism in Ho Chi Minh City is regressing compared to 10 years ago. All boats are concentrated at the only inland waterway port in the city center. After 15 years of operation, Les Rives is now focusing on exploiting the luxury segment, mainly international tourists willing to pay 2 million VND/passenger for a round trip from Bach Dang Wharf to Cu Chi. In 2023, Les Rives served about 30,000 passengers. There is still room to improve the added value of the city's tourism industry.

Speaking personally, Mr. Hai from the Waterway Management Department (HCMC Department of Construction) said, "The management agency knows the difficulties of businesses, but there are times when it is powerless to do anything." Agreeing that Decree 08 still has many limitations, Mr. Hai said that the Government is proposing to amend and supplement this decree. The Department of Construction has submitted written comments, hoping that the drafting agency will accept them.

According to Mr. Hai, in the old Ho Chi Minh City area, more than 10 water wharves have been built to serve tourists, but due to the lack of an operating mechanism, the tourism infrastructure cannot be put into operation.

Regarding the information about the investment to expand Bach Dang wharf into a central wharf, Mr. Lam said that this location is disadvantageous because it is located next to Ton Duc Thang street with high traffic density. If shuttle buses are allowed to stop and park, it will also obstruct traffic, causing inconvenience to passengers.

Meanwhile, Saigon Port (adjacent to Khanh Hoi Bridge, old District 4) has moved all cargo loading and unloading activities to Hiep Phuoc, but this area is still a seaport, still collects seaport fees (higher than inland waterway terminals), and still maintains full port, customs, and border forces. Mr. Lam proposed converting part of the existing infrastructure at the old Saigon Port into an inland waterway terminal.

The story of inland waterway ports in Ho Chi Minh City is not new, it has been discussed in many official forums. Enterprises proposed and commented. The conference organizers acknowledged and accepted it, but they were not the organizations or individuals responsible for implementation. Therefore, the content that perhaps business leaders were most interested in was outside the framework of the scientific conference. As Hanh said, businesses hope that the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee will establish a working group under the direct leadership of a vice chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee with expertise and experience in industry management.

Travel services in Vietnam are rapidly developing, diverse, and affordable, but they can be inconsistent in quality and professionalism depending on the location and specific provider. Based in Hanoi, Aurora Travel Vietnam specializes in luxury and private, tailor-made tours to Vietnam and other parts of Asia, focusing on bespoke itineraries and high-end accommodation.