The Culture - Tourism Week and the introduction of Vietnamese cuisine and craft villages in Europe are taking place.

For many years, Europe has been an important economic partner of Vietnam and Vietnam is one of the Asian countries with the most comprehensive and extensive relations with the European Union. In the tourism sector, after the COVID-19 pandemic, in 2024, Vietnam welcomed more than 1.8 million European tourists, of which the highest number were from the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, etc. In the first three months of 2025, visitors from the European market to Vietnam continued to increase at a rate of nearly 20% over the same period last year, reaching over 791,000 visitors. European tourists (especially Western Europe) have high spending capacity, long-term stays, and responsible tourism. Therefore, it is necessary to focus on promoting and advertising Vietnamese tourism in these key markets to maintain a stable growth rate in the coming time.

In 2025, Hue city was chosen as the host city for the National Tourism Year with the theme “Hue - Ancient Capital, New Opportunities”. The National Tourism Year is a typical cultural - economic - social and tourism event of national and international scale combined with Hue Festival 2025 and other major celebrations of the country. Therefore, promoting Vietnamese cultural values associated with Hue in the key European market is also necessary, creating a boost in the development of local tourism in particular and the whole country in general.

Thanh Tien 300-year-old paper flower craft village in Hue - Photo: Heritage Magazine

Accordingly, from May 4 to 13, 2025, the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism) in coordination with the People's Committee of Hue City, the Tourism Development Support Fund, Vietnam Airlines and partners will organize a program to introduce tourism, craft villages, Vietnamese cuisine, and connect businesses on the occasion of the National Tourism Year - Hue 2025 in Milan (Italy) on May 6, 2025, in Geneva (Switzerland) on May 8, 2025 and in Paris (France) on May 12, 2025.

The delegation of the Vietnam National Tourism Administration was led by Mr. Nguyen Trung Khanh, Director of the Department. The delegation of the Hue City People's Committee was led by Mr. Nguyen Thanh Binh, Permanent Vice Chairman. The delegation also included Director of the Tourism Development Fund Hoang Thi Kim Anh, representatives of the Ministry of Finance, localities such as Hanoi and Da Nang, leaders of Vietnam Airlines, tourism, transportation and hotel businesses in Vietnam.

Within the framework of the Program, a series of activities will be implemented such as meeting with tourism businesses from other countries; focusing on introducing typical products of Hue tourism such as performing Royal Court Music, introducing Royal Cuisine; introducing traditional craft villages (Thanh Tien paper flowers and lotus leaf hats); opening the direct flight route Hanoi - Milan; Ao Dai fashion show; program to introduce Vietnam destinations in general and some outstanding destinations, products and services in particular.

With the characteristics of the European market, the tourism products that Vietnam focuses on introducing this time are eco-tourism, sustainable tourism associated with the goal of green growth, historical and cultural tourism, sea tourism and unique, novel and high-end products. Tourism businesses from Italy, Switzerland and France will have the opportunity to enjoy some typical Vietnamese dishes such as Nem Cong Cha Phuong, Bun Bo Hue, Com Sen, Longan Longan with Lotus Seeds, Vietnamese coffee and tea. At the same time, there will be the opportunity to win valuable prizes sponsored by Vietnam Airlines and participating units such as round-trip air tickets from Europe to Vietnam, high-end tours, hotel vouchers...

Vietnam.vn