The Phở (Noodle Soup) Museum, the Ho Chi Minh City Museum, and the War Remnants Museum, all in HCM City, debuted the Heritage Passport project on August 13, bringing together three different aspects of the city's cultural story in one visitor experience.

Rather than treating the museums as separate destinations, the project connects them through a shared itinerary, with each stop offering a different chapter in the history, culture and identity of Ho Chi Minh City.

Le Nhat Thanh, director of the Phở Museum, explained that the journey is structured around three themes: resilience and the history of the struggle for independence at the War Remnants Museum; the development of the city over more than three centuries at the Ho Chi Minh City Museum; and Vietnamese culinary culture at the Phở Museum.

These three destinations represent various facets of HCM City, offering visitors insight into the values ​​that shape the Vietnamese people and culture. Through firsthand experiences at these museums, visitors can explore, feel, and cherish memories of the city's heritage.

The highlight of the project is the physical passport integrated with NFC wireless connectivity technology. Users need to tap their smartphone against the designated area to activate the digital passport version on their personal device.

Holders of the heritage passport can visit each museum once, enjoy a bowl of phở, and receive a gift.

Nhat Thanh noted that the digital component could allow experiences that might otherwise end when visitors leave a museum to be revisited, preserved and personalised.

“We hope the heritage passport will serve as a bridge connecting destinations, the past and the present, and the Vietnamese people with international friends. We want every traveler, upon completing their journey, to leave not just with a passport in hand, but also with a cherished memory of Vietnam to take with them,” Thanh shared.

The project aims not only to reach international tourists but also to attract the domestic younger generation, offering them a way to engage with history and culture through a youthful, modern approach.

Moving forward, the NFC-enabled heritage passport model will continue to expand, connecting more museums and historical-cultural sites while forging links with culinary, artistic, and entertainment destinations across HCM City to create diverse tours.

Culinary, heritage passports reshape cultural tourism

Safeguarding and upholding heritage sites is not merely about keeping them in their original state, but also demands approaches that fit new contexts.