Department of Tourism carries out culinary digitalization activities

Smart tourism development

Implementing digital transformation and applying information technology in the tourism industry, the Department of Tourism has recently implemented projects to develop smart tourism. Notably, the Department has built a digital database system for the tourism industry in Hue City to serve the management of the industry, and at the same time, publicly provide tourists with information about accommodation establishments, travel agencies and tour guides in the city.

Mr. Vo Hoang Lien Minh, Chief of Office of the Department of Tourism, said that the local tourism industry has also formed an integrated digital information system on tourists, tourist areas, tourist attractions, and tourism service establishments. Digitizing tourism resources (heritage, cuisine, tourist destinations, etc.). Currently, the industry's data sets have been connected to the city's open data system and made public on the Department's electronic information page.

Visitors experience on Hue City Passport

One of the directions to respond to current tourism trends is to build smart tourism products. According to the leader of the Department of Tourism, in 2025, the Department will continue to deploy tourism explanation applications on mobile devices; deploy the Travel Passport experience program; digitize cuisine on a 3D digital technology platform; promote digital at a number of eco-tourism and community tourism destinations in the city. Utility applications bring convenience to tourists. “Hue City Passport is very good. From this application, we can easily search for relics, landscapes, experience cuisine, traditional crafts, and local lifestyle culture. The experience of traveling to Hue is therefore more interesting,” said Mr. Tran Thien Nhan, a tourist from Phu Yen.

The leader of the Department of Tourism said that the Thua Thien Hue Tourism Portal (now Hue City) and the visithue App have continued to upgrade, ensuring the provision of complete and vivid information about destinations, products and tourism services; receiving and processing feedback from tourists, thereby creating more convenience for tourists and the work of serving and managing destinations.

Accelerating digital transformation

Currently, digital transformation and smart tourism development are inevitable trends and are one of the priority directions of global tourism. In addition to the solutions that have been implemented, the tourism industry of the Ancient Capital is quickly approaching technology to develop digital tourism and smart tourism, contributing to creating attractive tourism products, improving promotion efficiency, and developing sustainable tourism. The leaders of the Department of Tourism determined that in 2025 and the following years, digital transformation in the tourism industry will be accelerated, prioritizing development in the direction of smart management, experience and promotion.

Experience on Hue tourism information search engine

The tourism industry's orientation is to continue to promote the implementation of digital government, digital economy and digital society in tourism activities; continue to update the tourism database and smart tourism monitoring system. Hue tourism industry will upgrade the Hue City Tourism Information Portal and synchronized social media channels under the name Visithue. Build smart tourism products, online tools for searching, sharing information, booking services, and making electronic payments.

To serve tourists and develop tourism more strongly, the Department of Tourism coordinates with relevant units and the business community to continue upgrading smart tourism products, especially the decision support system for tourists to plan their trips, calculate options and expected costs; add food tour itineraries to the Tourist Passport; deploy a tourism explanation application on mobile devices; deploy culinary digitalization on a 3D digital technology platform in a more diverse direction. Promote digital at a number of eco-tourism and community tourism destinations in the city. In 2025, the Department of Tourism will also develop a plan to produce digital media content and promote tourism in Hue city on an online platform.

To do this, along with the Department of Tourism in building and developing the completion of national digital platforms in the tourism sector from relevant ministries and branches, the role of the business community and relevant units is also very important, especially in providing and updating databases and applying strong digital transformation at the unit. Enterprises also need to pay attention to investing in building websites, digitizing data, doing business on digital platforms; having communication strategies, building images, short clips, promoting products through social networking sites, contributing to introducing local tourism products. Strengthening digital transformation in promotion, creating many conveniences for tourists when they come to experience.

Article and photos: HUU PHUC