Saigontourist seeks to expand Japan ties as Japanese arrivals to Ho Chi Minh City rise

From Saturday to Monday, Saigontourist Group was scheduled to participate in the Vietnam-Ho Chi Minh City Festival in Aichi Prefecture and the 2026 Ho Chi Minh City-Aichi Investment Promotion Conference in Nagoya, using the events to showcase Vietnamese tourism products, connect with Japanese partners and explore new business opportunities.

The activities are part of celebrations marking the 10th anniversary of the friendship relationship between Ho Chi Minh City and Aichi Prefecture, creating additional opportunities for tourism, trade and investment cooperation.

At the festival, Saigontourist Group introduced tourism products, accommodation services, travel packages and experiences designed specifically for Japanese travelers, with an aim at strengthening direct engagement with consumers, businesses and tourism partners in one of Japan's most important economic regions.

Hirose Noriko, Ho Chi Minh City’s tourism ambassador and Saigontourist Group’s representative in Aichi, joined the company’s staff from Vietnam in supporting the exhibition booth.

Their presence helped facilitate direct engagement with Japanese visitors, businesses and partners while promoting Vietnam as a welcoming destination rich in cultural identity and Ho Chi Minh City as a dynamic, modern and attractive metropolis.

Aichi is a major industrial hub and home to many Japanese companies investing in Ho Chi Minh City.

The prefecture also has a sizable Vietnamese community, making it a promising market for tourism programs, cultural exchanges and business connections between the two localities.

Expanding two-way tourism cooperation

The 2026 Ho Chi Minh City-Aichi Investment Promotion Conference is set to be held in Nagoya on Monday next week, bringing together around 100 participants, including leaders from both localities, trade promotion agencies, associations and Japanese businesses.

During the conference, Saigontourist Group will present proposals aimed at expanding strategic tourism and service-sector cooperation between the two regions.

Areas identified for potential collaboration include accommodation, travel services, cuisine, MICE tourism, and the development of specialized tourism products.

The company will also highlight opportunities to exchange management expertise and provide workforce training.

The company emphasized that developing tourism flows in both directions should become a priority, not only attracting more Japanese visitors to Vietnam but also encouraging more Vietnamese travelers to visit Aichi and other Japanese destinations.

Japan remains one of Ho Chi Minh City's most important international visitor markets.

According to the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism, the city welcomed nearly 385,000 Japanese visitors in 2025, up from approximately 300,000 arrivals in 2024.

Japan ranked among the city's six largest international tourism markets.

Hotels in Saigontourist Group's central Ho Chi Minh City portfolio also recorded substantial numbers of Japanese guests last year.

Among them, Majestic Saigon Hotel served nearly 11,000 Japanese visitors, Continental Saigon Hotel welcomed close to 4,500, Grand Saigon Hotel received nearly 3,000, and Rex Hotel Saigon served around 2,500.

Meanwhile, Saigontourist Travel Service Company organized tours for nearly 1,000 Japanese visitors in Ho Chi Minh City and other destinations throughout Vietnam.

Cao Van Chong, general director of Saigontourist Group, said the festival and investment promotion conference carry special significance as the two localities mark a decade of friendly relations.

“These events not only provide opportunities to promote Vietnam and Ho Chi Minh City to Japanese people and businesses but also strengthen connections, economic cooperation, tourism development and people-to-people exchanges,” Chong said.