“Awakening” the tourism potential of Hanoi Old Quarter

The space of Hanoi Old Quarter (Hoan Kiem District) not only preserves the cultural and historical values ​​of the capital but also contains tourism potential. How to exploit tourism to its full potential, besides the efforts of enterprises, also requires local authorities to join hands to improve service quality and connect destinations.

Abundant cultural - historical - architectural resources

According to information from the People's Committee of Hoan Kiem District, there are currently nearly 200 cultural, historical and revolutionary relics in the area, of which 121 are in the Old Quarter. Some of the typical relics include Bach Ma Temple, the heritage house at 87 Ma May Street, Kim Ngan Communal House, Quan De Temple, and Ancestral Temples... This place is also famous for its traditional craft streets such as Hang Bac Street with the craft of making and trading jewelry; Hang Ma Street with the craft of making votive offerings; Lan Ong Street with the craft of making traditional oriental medicine. In particular, the areas of Ta Hien, Luong Ngoc Quyen, Cau Go, Tong Duy Tam Streets... are home to many culinary restaurants of Hanoians. With the potential strengths of the cultural heritage system, Hanoi's Old Quarter is considered a "museum of ancient urban lifestyles" of Vietnam.

In order to increase tourism attraction, in recent times, Hoan Kiem district has organized many evening art performances in Hanoi's Old Quarter such as: Art space at the Cultural and Art Center at 22 Hang Buom Street; "Old Quarter Music Story" program at the Old Quarter Exchange Center (50 Dao Duy Tu Street)... To serve the sightseeing and entertainment needs of tourists, Hoan Kiem district has also restored many traditional festivals, organized the introduction of handicrafts of the Old Quarter and Hanoi craft villages.

Traditional cultural performance at the Old Quarter Exchange Center (50 Dao Duy Tu Street). Photo: Hoai Nam

Head of the Department of Culture, Courses and Information (Hoan Kiem District) Nguyen Thi Thu Hien said that tourism products in Hanoi's Old Quarter are increasingly rich and diverse. In addition to traditional tours, Hoan Kiem District has developed many new tour products, notably the walking street activities in the Old Quarter on weekends; cultural performances in the evening; culinary streets... "Currently, Hoan Kiem Old Quarter is an indispensable destination in the journey to explore the capital of tourists when participating in the Northern region tourism journey. On average, every weekend, the walking street space of the Old Quarter and Hoan Kiem Lake welcomes about 20,000 visitors for entertainment. In 2024 alone, the number of international tourists staying overnight in Hoan Kiem District will reach 2.2 million, tourism revenue will increase by 48.5%" - Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu Hien gave an example.

Connecting to upgrade service quality to create attraction for the old town

Although the Old Quarter (Hoan Kiem) area possesses cultural and historical strengths, tourism experts believe that these strengths have not yet been fully exploited. At the Conference on Upgrading Service Quality and Connecting Tourist Destinations in Hoan Kiem District with travel agencies in Hanoi (May 8), tourism businesses shared the same reflection that currently, the exploitation of tours and routes to visit the Old Quarter is mainly organized by travel agencies themselves, so the products are still monotonous, failing to introduce the quintessential cultural features of Hanoi's Old Quarter to international tourists.

Director of Travelogy Vietnam, Vu Van Tuyen, said that while visiting Hanoi's Old Quarter, tourists all want to explore the cuisine and shop for local products and goods. However, currently in the Old Quarter, there is no reputable shopping mall or shopping area that can meet this need. In reality, shopping spots in the Old Quarter are only spontaneous businesses, so it is difficult to manage prices and quality, and can lead to the mixing of fake, counterfeit goods that do not guarantee quality.

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Experts, businesses, and managers discussed ways to "awaken" tourism in Hanoi's Old Quarter at the conference. Photo: Hoai Nam

"Tourism businesses want to have a key tour and route that is surveyed, selected, standardized, inspected, tested, and exploited by state agencies to create high reliability for tourists, while promoting the quintessence of Hanoi's Old Quarter culture," said Mr. Vu Van Tuyen. Sharing the same view, Director of AZA Travel Nguyen Tien Dat said that state management agencies for tourism and trade need to have strict inspection and control, thereby providing a list of addresses and sales locations that ensure quality so that tour guides and travel agencies can confidently lead tourists to visit, experience, and shop.

Agreeing with this opinion, Chairwoman of the Board of Directors of Hanoi Tourism Investment Joint Stock Company (Hanoi Tourism JSC) Nhu Thi Ngan reflected that currently, the connection of tours and tourist routes in Hanoi's Old Quarter has not been implemented professionally. The reason is the lack of service establishments registering a system that meets service standards to introduce to tourists. "In the coming time, the tourism industry of the capital and Hoan Kiem district need to organize cultural and tourism activities according to thematic topics. Thereby, tourism enterprises build tours featuring the Old Quarter at certain times of the year" - Ms. Ngan suggested.

Tourists visit the ancient house at 87 Ma May (Hoan Kiem). Photo: Hoai Nam

To exploit the potential of tourism in the old town more effectively, Director of the Vietnam Institute for Tourism Development Research Nguyen Anh Tuan said that it is necessary to have a communication strategy to promote the advantages and tourism products, and a plan to connect routes and tourist destinations for tourists. "There needs to be closer cooperation and connection between the organizing unit and travel agencies, especially those specializing in international visitors (Inbound), and at the same time, Hoan Kiem district needs to have a communication strategy to promote the advantages and tourism products. Thereby, creating conditions for businesses to have a plan to connect routes and tourist destinations for tourists" - Mr. Nguyen Anh Tuan suggested.

From the perspective of a management agency, Deputy Director of Hanoi Department of Tourism Tran Trung Hieu hopes that in the coming time, Hoan Kiem district needs to continue to pay attention to planning and maintaining regular, periodic, and selective cultural and tourism activities, making the ancient town's heritage more attractive and appealing to tourists.

In response to the opinions of enterprises, expert Nguyen Quoc Hoan, Standing Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Hoan Kiem District, said that the People's Committee of Hoan Kiem District has plans and projects to preserve and promote the value of the old quarter. In the coming time, Hoan Kiem District will coordinate with departments and branches to organize cultural and tourism events to preserve, maintain and promote the cultural identity of the old quarter, while increasing the attraction of the old quarter to visitors.

Source: Urban Economic Newspaper

Source: https://bvhttdl.gov.vn/danh-thuc-tiem-nang-du-lich-pho-co-ha-noi-20250509155129211.htm