VOV.VN - Unlike scenes in previous years when people poured onto the streets to watch firework displays and enjoy entertainment to celebrate New Year’s Eve, public places in Ho Chi Minh City this year are much more quiet.

Ho Chi Minh City’s economy shrank by 6.78% in 2021, the sharpest yearly decline on record, according to the municipal Statistics Office, as stringent COVID-19 restrictions took their toll.

Ho Chi Minh City remains a top favourite destination of Vietnamese tourists during the New Year holiday for the second consecutive year, according to data from digital travel platform Agoda.

The University of Science under the Vietnam National University - Ho Chi Minh City (VNU-HCM) has received a patent from the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for its new invention in bio-technology.

Ho Chi Minh City will improve its public digital infrastructure and allow the private sector to engage in smart tourism solutions and mobilise investment resources for the sector as part of its efforts to develop smart tourism in the 2021-2025 period.

Ho Chi Minh City will roll out virtual activities in parallel with in-person ones to celebrate the upcoming 2022 New Year amid complex developments of the COVID-19 pandemic, announced the municipal Department of Culture and Sports.

Former Standing Vice Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Tat Thanh Cang was brought to trial on December 27 on the charge of “violating regulations on the management and use of State assets, causing losses and wastefulness”.

VOV.VN - A number of tourist attractions and hotels throughout Ho Chi Minh City are offering discounts of up to 60% of services during Tourism Week 2021 which is underway from December 24 to December 31.

Demand of goods in Ho Chi Minh City, the country’s biggest, is increasing gradually before the Lunar New Year holidays thanks to promotions and the greater diversity of products than last year.

VOV.VN - Many hospitals throughout Ho Chi Minh City organised Christmas celebrations for COVID-19 patients, with a special focus on children, to encourage them to overcome difficulties faced during the COVID-19 pandemic.