More than 40 travel firms in HCM City sold 9,000 tour packages worth a total of VND83 billion (US$US$3.64 million) during a four-day travel fair in HCM City that wrapped up on Sunday.

The HCM City Travel Fair attracted 320,000 visitors.

Travel firms and airlines as well as hotels and resorts in 37 cities and provinces offered discounts of 15-50 per cent, as well as 10,000 gifts to buyers.

Revenue surged by 38 per cent compared to last year’s figure, according to the city’s Department of Tourism.

Nguyen Thi Nha Quyen, 36, from Binh Thanh District, bought a five-day tour package to Taiwan worth VND 8.3 million ($365) a person.

“The tour was discounted at VND600,000 a person so I bought it for seven people in my family. We will travel together next month,” she said.

At the fair, the city’s Department of Tourism and the Vietnam Post and Telecommunications Group launched a tourism app featuring information searches and travel guides as well as an introduction to the city’s tourist attractions.

The app, called Vibrant Ho Chi Minh City, can be downloaded and installed on Android and IOS devices, said La Quoc Khanh, deputy director of the city’s Department of Tourism.

After a six month pilot run, the app will be adjusted and introduced to domestic and international tourists, Khanh said. — VNS