Several travel firms in Ho Chi Minh City have launched a series of new tour programs for vacationers as the city has entered a 'new normal' period after months of strict social distancing measures. 

A representative of leading tour operator Saigontourist said the company would offer two waterway tours to Can Gio, an eco-tourist site around 70 kilometers from the city center, by express boat Greenlines DP in November. 

The one-day tour departs from Bach Dang Wharf and allows tourists to visit Thanh An Island Commune, the Vam Sat eco-tourist site and experience crab and crocodile fishing on the boat.

The tour package costs from VND1.779 million (US$78) per traveler.

Leading travel firm Vietravel has introduced a series of tour programs that take visitors to the city's Can Gio and Cu Chi Districts, neighboring Tay Ninh Province, and Binh Chau Hot Spring in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province.

The firm also plans to launch tour packages to Sa Pa, Ha Long Bay, and some tourist destinations in northeast and northwest regions. 

Nguyen Khoa Luan, director of Anh Viet Hop On - Hop Off Vietnam Company, said its open-top double-decker bus service that takes tourists to iconic attractions in the southern city has resumed after a long time of suspension due to the pandemic. 

Departing from the Central Post Office, the bus takes tourists to Ho Chi Minh City’s attractions including the War Remnants Museum and Ho Con Rua (Turtle Lake) in District 3, the Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica of Saigon in District 1, Bach Dang Wharf, and more.

According to the city’s Department of Tourism, many travel firms have resumed operations since early October as the southern metropolis lifted most COVID-19 restrictions and reopened socio-economic activities to adapt to the 'new normal' period. 

The department has worked with travel firms to launch other waterway tours such as two-day-one-night Can Gio, Bach Dang-Cu Chi-Binh Duong, and Bach Dang-District 7-Can Gio. 

In addition, the department has joined forces with leaders of Tay Ninh, Khanh Hoa, Phu Yen, and Binh Dinh in preparation for resuming inter-provincial tourism.

Last month, the city also reopened a commercial tour between Cu Chi Tunnels and Ba Den Mountain in Tay Ninh. 

Ho Chi Minh City has recorded over 433,000 infections in the ongoing wave.

Its high vaccination rate and a strategic shift from a zero-virus strategy to living with the pandemic have enabled the city to restore tourism activities since October 1.

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