City officials from the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism along with representatives from travel agencies gathered at the International Terminal of the airport to welcome the visitors, mainly from the UK, who were on a Vietnam Airlines stopover flight on their way to Australia.
David from the UK said he was very surprised and enjoyed the warm welcome he received.
At the welcoming ceremony, airport officials revealed the city is expected to receive about 1,000 international tourists of 5 flights on the first day of the year.
The event marks the opening for a series of cultural and tourism activities planned for the year including the Ao Dai (Vietnamese traditional dress) festival, Tourism Day, Southern Region Cuisine Festival, Southern Fruit Festival, and Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Festival.
Director of the municipal Department of Tourism Van Thi Bach Tuyet said the city has planned numerous special programmes in 2015 and aims to attract 4.7 million international visitors in 2015.
