Bars and hotels on Bui Vien West Street have turned into restaurants and pubs

“Western Street” on Bui Vien Street, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City is a place where many tourists come to the city, especially foreigners. After many closures and temporary closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this street is starting to get busy again.

However, while the number of international visitors is still limited, mainly domestic tourists, many business establishments here have transformed their business models.

The busiest activity of West Bui Vien Street these days is probably construction and repair. From the beginning of the street to the end of the street, many shops and shops were remodeled. Spa shop turned into snail shop. Or a series of adjacent townhouses that used to be a hotel business, now become restaurants or eateries.

“Now they are converted into a restaurant because the hotel is not rented by anyone,” said a resident on West Bui Vien Street.

After more than a month of fully opening to tourism, the number of foreign tourists has recovered but is still limited. The hotel business is difficult, the solution is to cede the premises to open restaurants and roadside pubs that are more accessible to domestic customers.

“Now it’s mainly restaurants, domestic customers eat a lot, there are no Westerners, but most of them are Vietnamese,” said another resident on West Bui Vien Street.

The number of visitors has recently improved, but it is still not as good as before the epidemic. So even though there are many worries about the business, it is impossible to keep vacant, so many homeowners have flexible plans to use the premises to suit market needs. Even combined with each other to share the source of customers, increase income.

As one of the few hotels still in business on Bui Vien West Street, the owner of My Hoang hotel has optimized all premises for business: The first floor rents out massages, while the hotel is empty, some rooms are converted into service apartment.

“30% used as apartments for rent, 70% hotels opened. Now starting to gradually stabilize the number of guests again”, Mr. Nguyen Ba Luong – Manager of My Hoang Hotel (District 1 – Ho Chi Minh City) ) said.

Bui Vien Street is probably the neighborhood that has changed the most in the past 2 years. From a place that was famous as a place to stay for foreigners in Ho Chi Minh City, in translation it became a fruit and vegetable shop. And now with the new situation, some places have hung signs to pay and rent premises, others stick to changing business models, waiting for the recovery of international tourism.

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