On August 21, Ho Chi Minh City's Department of Tourism (Sở Du lịch TP.HCM) launched a design competition to find the city's next souvenir. Held under the banner "Sáng tạo bừng sáng - Lan tỏa bản sắc" (Let creativity shine, spread our identity), the combined value of prize money and in-kind awards comes to roughly 850 million dong (about 4.86 million yen, at an approximate rate of 1 yen ≈ 175 dong). Entries are accepted through October 21, the top 45 will be selected in October, and winners will be honored in November-December.
What to buy in Saigon before you leave. This contest matters directly to travelers unsure what souvenir to bring home and to residents looking for a gift before a trip back. The winning designs won't stop at the award: the city plans to work with manufacturers to turn them into actual products, distributed in shops, at events, and at diplomatic and conference functions. Within a few months, "the tourism department's pick of Saigon souvenirs" will be sitting on shelves as real items.
Three categories, first prize 80/70 million dong, open to foreign residents too
The competition, titled "Thiết kế quà tặng lưu niệm - Du lịch TP.HCM 2026," is split into three categories. First prize in the conference/festival gift category is 80 million dong (about 460,000 yen), and first prize in the tourism souvenir category is 70 million dong (about 400,000 yen). The overall total of 850 million dong combines this prize money with in-kind bonus prizes, and the top 45 entries advance to the final round.
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Conference/festival category, first prize | 80 million dong (about 460,000 yen) |
| Tourism souvenir category, first prize | 70 million dong (about 400,000 yen) |
| Total prize money and bonus awards | About 850 million dong (about 4.86 million yen) |
| Entry period | August 21-October 21, 2026 |
| Final selection | Top 45 entries (announced in October) |
| Awards ceremony | November-December |
Amounts are approximate, converted at roughly 1 yen ≈ 175 dong.
Eligibility isn't limited to Vietnamese nationals. Foreigners who legally reside, study, or work in Vietnam can also enter. There are two ways to submit: in person at the tourism department, or online through the competition website. Residents confident in their design skills have an opening to submit their own idea rather than just watch from the sidelines.
Motifs range from Ben Thanh Market to the Vung Tau lighthouse and Con Dao
The motifs suggested by the organizers cover a wide range. Alongside central landmarks such as Ben Thanh Market, the Reunification Palace, the Central Post Office, and the Saigon River, they include the Vung Tau lighthouse and Con Dao. On the crafts and specialty side, the list stretches to Lai Thieu pottery (gốm Lái Thiêu), Tuong Binh Hiep lacquerware (sơn mài Tương Bình Hiệp), Lai Thieu mangosteen, Bach Dang pomelo, and Con Dao oyster sauce.
This lineup traces the outline of the "new Ho Chi Minh City" formed by the 2025 administrative restructuring that folded the former Binh Duong and Ba Ria-Vung Tau into the city. Souvenir motifs now reach beyond central architecture to suburban pottery and a fishing village's fermented condiment. The tourism department is trying to compress the city's expanded footprint into a single souvenir. For buyers, it means items bearing not just the Reunification Palace image but the colors of Con Dao's sea and Lai Thieu's clay will soon be sold under the name "Saigon souvenir."
Today's Saigon souvenirs are dominated by coffee, chocolate, and wooden clogs
Behind the competition's call for "renewal" is the reality that today's souvenirs lean heavily toward a handful of items. The first thing most travelers pick up is roasted coffee, and branded beans, such asbeans from Buon Ma Thuot now reaching Shanghai, where how they're chosen as gifts is starting to shift, are a case in point. For gifting, Vietnamese-made chocolate that has also reached Changi Airport,such as Marou, is spreading to overseas airports and cementing its place as a staple. For handcrafted goods,the ongoing wooden-clog demonstration sales at Tan Dinh Marketshow how people gravitate toward one-off pieces with a visible maker behind them.
What the city is aiming for is the gap outside these three pillars. Coffee is heavy, chocolate melts in summer, and wooden clogs are awkward to carry home. Saigon has surprisingly few small items that are cheap, compact, and still tell the giver's story about the city. Unlike Hue's conical hats or Hoi An's lanterns, souvenirs that instantly conjure the place by name, Ho Chi Minh City doesn't yet have one. The competition's design is aimed squarely at filling that mid-price gap.
Two things travelers and residents can do right now
Sorted by timing, the actions to take differ.
- Residents and creators who want to submit a design should put together an entry built around motifs like Ben Thanh Market or the Central Post Office by the October 21 deadline, and submit it at the tourism department's office or through the competition website. Foreigners with legal residency status can enter too.
- Buyers should wait for the results, due from October onward, and then for the products to reach shelves after production. Since the awards ceremony falls in November-December, the actual items won't be available until at least the end of the year.
- Anyone traveling to Saigon before year's end should stick with coffee, Marou chocolate, and handcrafted items from Tan Dinh Market for now, while keeping an eye on the new official souvenirs joining the lineup, so as not to miss the next must-buy item.
This competition isn't an abstract tourism promotion; it's designed to produce concrete products that will land on shelves within a few months. With 850 million dong behind it and manufacturer partnerships built into the plan, there's real room for the next souvenir travelers pick up in Saigon to change. Remember two dates: the October 21 deadline and the year-end retail rollout, and you can get ahead of a Saigon souvenir nobody else has yet.
