Saigontourist Group: Green wheels connect Sport, Tourism and Community
English - Ngày đăng : 07:31, 31/08/2026
Expanding the destination experience by bicycle
At 4:00 a.m. on August 29, the Saigontourist Group Audax 600-km ultra-endurance cycling challenge started at Lam Son Square. A total of 150 Vietnamese and international riders took part, including four international cyclists from Switzerland, South Africa, Singapore and Germany, as well as eight women. Participants were tasked with completing the 600-km course within a 41-hour time limit.
Audax 600 was designed as more than an endurance test. Its route passed through areas within Ho Chi Minh City's newly expanded administrative boundaries, connecting the city with areas formerly belonging to Ba Ria - Vung Tau and Binh Duong. Each stage therefore combined physical challenge with views of urban spaces, landscapes, ecological zones and emerging development areas. This was also the first time Saigontourist Group partnered with Audax Vietnam to bring the 600-km challenge into a community-oriented event.
Saigontourist Group Audax 600 brought together 150 Vietnamese and international riders for a 600-km route with a 41-hour time limit. Yet the journey was designed to mean more than endurance alone. The route allowed participants to experience the expanded urban space of Ho Chi Minh City, moving from the central city toward landscapes, ecological zones and culturally distinctive areas, while suggesting a direct and engaging way to promote destinations through cycling, personal discovery and closer contact with local places and values.
From community sport to a greener destination
On the morning of August 30, more than 1,000 people departed from Lam Son Square for a cycling parade of around 5.1 km through central Ho Chi Minh City. City leaders, representatives of agencies and organizations, cycling clubs, employees, residents and visitors shared the streets in an activity designed around participation and connection.
At the opening ceremony, Nguyen Nam Nhan, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Culture and Sports, emphasized that the activities from the city center to Can Gio would help promote Ho Chi Minh City as dynamic, modern, friendly, compassionate and rich in identity, while linking sport with tourism and introducing the city's distinctive values.
Following the parade, the Saigontourist Group Cycling Cup for the Community 2026 took place in the Binh Khanh - Can Gio area. Along the Rung Sac - Duyen Hai route, competitive cycling unfolded amid the distinctive natural setting of the coastal district. Choosing Can Gio connected sport with ecology, cuisine, culture and local communities, while encouraging a way of exploring destinations that remains close to nature.
Saigontourist Group described the event as an opportunity for people to exercise for better health, experience the city differently, discover new spaces, spread a green lifestyle and turn community spirit into practical action. In that framing, the bicycle became both a means of movement and a symbol of a more responsible relationship with the urban environment.
More than 1,000 people joined the 5.1-km community cycling parade through central Ho Chi Minh City on the morning of August 30. According to Saigontourist Group, every turn of the wheel carried a message beyond physical exercise: healthy living, civic-minded behavior and environmental responsibility. By bringing different groups together to share public space and experience the city by bicycle, the event created an approachable image of a modern, greener and better-connected urban community built around health and shared responsibility and care.
Making “For the Community” a sustainable value
The community dimension was translated into concrete social activities. On August 22, the Organizing Committee presented Mid-Autumn Festival gifts to children from disadvantaged families in Can Gio. Most notably, 51 bicycles were given to academically motivated lower- and upper-secondary students facing difficult circumstances in Thanh An island commune and other localities of the city, helping support their journeys to school.
At the closing and awards ceremony on August 30 at the Saigon - Can Gio Ecotourism Area, local culture, cuisine and nature continued to form part of the event experience. Alongside sponsor recognition and awards for outstanding riders, the program reflected an approach in which sport is connected with destinations, services and local communities rather than treated as a stand-alone competition.
Another notable feature was the “Online Photo Archive” on Saigontourist Group's official website. Race images were uploaded and coded by bib number, allowing riders to search for, save and share their own moments. Images from the Can Gio course could therefore continue circulating online, extending the event's communications impact and further promoting the destination.
The Cycling Festival took place as the city looked toward the 81st National Day, the 50th anniversary of Saigon - Gia Dinh officially taking the name Ho Chi Minh City, and Saigontourist Group's 51-year development milestone. From the 600-km Audax challenge and the parade of more than 1,000 participants to the Can Gio race, the event demonstrated the potential of a sport-tourism-community model. When a destination is experienced through human movement, its landscapes, culture and environmental values become more immediate - an approach Saigontourist Group hopes to continue advancing through greener and more responsible tourism.