The department’s deputy director La Quoc Khanh said representatives of the department and Hai Au had met to discuss the development of the seaplane service in the city.

According to their plan, seaplanes can take off and land on the Sai Gon River or the sea in Can Gio District.

“With the new service, tourists can tour the city both by water and road,” he said.

Developing more services to attract more tourists to come and stay longer in the city is a key task of the city tourism authority.

Currently, the average length of foreign tourists’ stay in HCMC is only three days and tourism services of the city are facing fierce competition from other destinations, which have more tourist attractions.

Hai Au started operating its seaplane travel service last year. The airline is offering seaplane tours on Ha Noi-Ha Long and HCMC-Phan Thiet routes.