Multiplying experiences for tourists through the photography study tour model in Ho Chi Minh City

Abstract

Ho Chi Minh City is a dynamic tourist destination with the continuous emergence of new tourism business models to meet the needs of various customer segments. In this article, the authors are interested in the photography study tour model, a type of tourism for travelers who enjoy learning to use vintage cameras and film cameras while exploring various touristic attractions. The purpose is to describe and analyze the combination of experiences that photography tourism brings to tourists, which can serve as a specific example of diversifying experiences in tourism, in both theoretical and practical studies on this type of tourism. The research was conducted using the method of synthesizing and analyzing secondary data, combined with ethnographic fieldwork, through participatory observation techniques and semi-structured interviews. The research results show that the photography study tour is composed of the three main elements: tourism sightseeing, photography study, and photography tourism, which together create a memorable, unique experience for tourists. This indicates that this type of tourism has a great potential, albeit not attracting a large number of tourists, it significantly contributes to diversifying tourism products for the city and opens up avenues for related research topics.