HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam, "In accordance with the direction of the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City, on December 29th, 2023, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism organized the Awarding Ceremony for the Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Check-in Point and Destination Mascot Design Contest 2023 (hereinafter referred to as the Contest).

This is the first time that the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism, in collaboration with VnExpress newspaper, has organized a contest to seek and select unique design ideas for tourism check-in model and mascot, conveying messages about the local culture, history, and people. The goal is to create new tourism products with distinctive features, contributing to enhancing the attractiveness of the city's tourism brand."

With the theme 'My Beloved City,' the contest officially kicked off on November 2nd, 2023, comprising two categories: Designing tourism check-in model and designing tourism mascot. In just one month since its launch, the contest has received 300 entries from authors including architects, artists, and students majoring in architecture and fine arts, both within Ho Chi Minh City and from provinces across the country.

Representing the Organizing Committee, Mr Le Truong Hien Hoa, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism, stated: "The contest goes beyond creative artistic design and aims for practical and flexible applicability, for use in promotional tourism activities. This helps visitors form a deeper impression of Ho Chi Minh City. Despite being the first year of organization and having a short launch period, we have received significant interest and response from individuals and organizations. We highly appreciate the enthusiasm, creativity, and love for the city that the authors have expressed through their submitted works."

At the end of the preliminary round, in each category, the Organizing Committee selected the top 15 outstanding works for the Finals. These works were publicly posted on the contest's website for readers to participate in voting.

During the Finals, the authors participated in a Creative Camp held from December 15 to December 17 in Ho Chi Minh City. Through activities such as City Tour - Discovering My Beloved City and Meeting the Judges, the authors had the opportunity to explore and experience famous tourist destinations in Ho Chi Minh City. Simultaneously, they received feedback and suggestions from the judges to adjust and improve their submitted works. The evaluation results for the Finals were based on the judges' scores (60%) and the readers' votes (40%).

Representing the Contest Judging Panel, National Teacher, Professor, and Doctor Nguyen Xuan Tien stated: "The submitted works all demonstrate creativity and contain unique and interesting artistic intentions. They particularly celebrate the landmarks, tourist destinations, history, and distinctive culture of Ho Chi Minh City. In the second phase of the contest, scheduled for 2024, when the award-winning ideas are evaluated and put into practice, I am confident that it will deepen the impressions of visitors about the city. It will contribute to spreading the beauty of the land and people of Ho Chi Minh City to visitors both domestically and internationally."

Through the evaluation process, the Organizing Committee selects and awards prizes to the outstanding works. In this regard, the total prize value awarded is up to 630,000,000 VND, including cash and gifts from the Organizing Committee, structured as follows:

• Category: Tourism Check-in Model Design:
  - 01 Special Prize: 80,000,000 VND (cash and gifts)
  - 01 First Prize: 65,000,000 VND (cash and gifts)
  - 01 Second Prize: 55,000,000 VND (cash and gifts)
  - 01 Third Prize: 45,000,000 VND (cash and gifts)
  - 01 Consolation Prize: 40,000,000 VND (cash and gifts)
  - 01 Popular Vote Prize: 40,000,000 VND (cash and gifts)
   
• Category: Tourism Mascot Design:
  - 01 Special Prize: 75,000,000 VND (cash and gifts)
  - 01 First Prize: 60,000,000 VND (cash and gifts)
  - 01 Second Prize: 50,000,000 VND (cash and gifts)
  - 01 Third Prize: 40,000,000 VND (cash and gifts)
  - 01 Consolation Prize: 38,000,000 VND (cash and gifts)
  - 01 Popular Vote Prize: 38,000,000 VND (cash and gifts)

The award-winning works showcase unique aspects of the culture, history, and people of Ho Chi Minh City, while vividly conveying the characteristics of the city's tourism in a lively and multifaceted manner.

In the next stage of the competition, the award-winning works will be considered for implementation in the actual construction and use in promotional, advertising, and tourism promotion activities, serving the city's economic, socio-cultural development, internal and external relations.

Parallel to the Awards Ceremony, there will be an exhibition called "Ho Chi Minh City Check!" to introduce the most outstanding and impressive competition entries.