Ho Chi Minh City will offer a new tourism product, allowing travelers to enjoy sightseeing from above by taking flights on tourist helicopters.

Entitled “Contemplate Ho Chi Minh City From Above,” the service, the first of its kind in the city, is expected to be available by the coming holidays, Reunification Day (April 30) and International Workers' Day (May 1), Nguyen Thi Anh Hoa, director of the municipal Department of Tourism, said on Tuesday.

The aerial sightseeing tour will kick off right after the city launches the program 'Welcome to Ho Chi Minh City' intended for domestic and international tourists, Hoa added, without giving a specific date. 

As a preparation for the coming launch, the department, in coordination with the Military Hospital 175 and the Southern Vietnam Helicopter Company, conducted a survey flight on Tuesday, after getting a nod from the city administration and the Ministry of National Defense.

Rice fields in Long An Province are seen in this photo taken from a tourist helicopter taking off from Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Quang Dinh / Tuoi Tre

There are two options for travelers, including short-range flights of 30 to 45 minutes each for viewing the inner city and coastal Can Gio District and mid-range flights of 60 minutes each for contemplating the city and the Canh Dong Bat Tan (Endless Field) tourism area in neighboring Long An Province.

Sightseeing flights will have heights ranging from 200 to 300 meters, depending on the terrain, and passengers will be medically checked by the hospital before each flight, Sai Gon Tiep Thi (Marketing Saigon) cited the Southern Vietnam Helicopter Company as saying. 

Flight tickets are expected to cost from VND5 million (US$218) to VND9.6 million ($418) each for tours taking off from and landing at the hospital, and from VND3.85 million ($168) to VND9.9 million ($432) each for those departing from and returning to Tan Son Nhat International Airport.

This image shows Can Gio Mangrove Biosphere Reserve in Can Gio District, Ho Chi Minh City, as seen from a tourist helicopter. Photo: Quang Dinh / Tuoi Tre

This is the first in a series of new and unique products that the city’s tourism authorities are developing to attract travelers, both domestic and international, as Vietnam has fully reopened its tourism market since March 15 after two years of closure due to COVID-19.

Dr. Nguyen Hong Son, director of the Military Hospital 175, under the defense ministry, said the hospital's Institute for Traumatology and Orthopedics will serve as a multi-function emergency center for road, air, and waterway patients. 

The hospital is setting up an out-of-hospital emergency process, a special procedure that makes the best use of time to promptly treat and save people in distress, Dr. Son said. 

The hospital joined other agencies in the survey flight to prepare for smooth coordination between health and tourism services in a common effort to spur the city’s tourism recovery, the director said.

A traveler is seen taking photos of Ho Chi Minh City landscapes from above when flying on a tourist helicopter. Photo: Quang Dinh / Tuoi Tre

Vo Anh Tai, deputy general director of Saigontourist Group, a leading travel agency in Vietnam, believes that the novel travel service will lure more and more customers, local and foreign alike, the Vietnam News Agency cited him as saying. 

“We have long focused on developing tourism packages for roads and waterways, while no air tours like the new service have been created," Tai said.

"Personally, during the survey flight, I felt extremely excited seeing rivers, rice fields, forests, and other beautiful landscapes of the beloved city from above.”

The first sightseeing helicopter tours in Vietnam were launched in central Da Nang City and some other localities many years ago.

This aerial image shows a part of Ho Chi Minh City’s coastal district of Can Gio from a tourist helicopter. Photo: Quang Dinh / Tuoi Tre

This image displays representatives of agencies receiving flowers from the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism when they joined a survey flight as preparations for the new tourist service 'Contemplate Ho Chi Minh City From Above' on April 12, 2022. Photo: Quang Dinh / Tuoi Tre

Ho Chi Minh City’s Nha Be District is seen from a tourist helicopter. Photo: Quang Dinh / Tuoi Tre

The Thanh An island commune of Can Gio District, Ho Chi Minh City is shown from a helicopter. Photo: Quang Dinh / Tuoi Tre

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Vinh Tho - Thu Hien - Quang Dinh / Tuoi Tre News