HCM City travel firms hope to profit from waterway tours  Saigontourist has launched seven new waterway routes on the Sai Gon River and the river sections of Binh Duong, Dong Nai and Long An.    Five luxury motor boats with the capacity of 25 passengers each and maximum speed of 50 kilometers per hour have been put into operation, taking tourists to destinations in HCMC and neighboring areas. The tour operator has also announced a plan to build more boat stops. With Sai Gon and Dong Nai rivers and a large network of canals and arroyos that create a 1,000 kilometer waterway network, HCMC has great advantages to develop waterway tourism. The outstanding feature of HCMC which no other city has is the Sai Gon Port. Cruise ships can dock at Nha Rong Wharf, a famous historical relic. At the end of Sai Gon River is the Can Gio Mangrove, the world’s biosphere reserve, the city’s green lung, where there are historical monuments and tourist sites.  The outstanding feature of HCMC which no other city has is the Sai Gon Port. Cruise ships can dock at Nha Rong Wharf, a famous historical relic. Bui Ta Hoang Vu, director of the HCMC Tourism Department, said the launch of new waterway tours is a part of the plan to develop the tourism industry in the city. However, despite support by the municipal authorities and strong determination by Saigontourist, analysts are doubtful about local waterway tourism development. In fact, many waterway tours were launched in the past, but ‘died young’ after a short time of operation. The water tour on Nhieu Loc – Thi Nghe canal, for example, later disappeared because there were few travelers and the revenue was not high enough to maintain operation. HCMC has received 19 million domestic travelers so far this year and 4.2 million foreign travelers, an increase of 16 percent over the same period last year. Tourism has brought revenue of VND84.574 trillion, up by 10 percent, making up 10 percent of the city’s GRDP. As for Saigontourist’s seven new waterway tours, an analyst commented that the tour fees are relatively high, between VND750,000 and VND2.145 million. Instead of taking the tours, travelers may consider driving cars to excursion points at a cost just equal to a half. In order to develop waterway tourism, travel firms need to offer many different destination points. However, it is difficult to obtain licenses to build harbors and boat stops. Vu from the tourism department admitted that there were not enough harbors, boat stops and stations, while the quality is also problematic. He said the serious pollution of rivers and canals also hinders the development of waterway tourism. Kim Chi, VNN