The artisan guides visitors through the steps of making conical hats in Hue.

Viewed from Da Nang

Towards the end of March, Da Nang's tourism industry announced a program to stimulate tourism and attract visitors to Da Nang, as well as the MICE 2026 program with the message "Da Nang - Touching the Authentic." More than just a slogan, the program is built as a product development strategy to adapt to tourist trends. This approach shows a clear shift: from simply exploiting resources to creating experiences; from selling what's available to designing emotionally enriching journeys. This is precisely what many destinations, including Hue, are lacking.

Mentioning Da Nang's model isn't meant for comparison, but rather to suggest approaches that are effectively meeting the needs of tourists. Furthermore, it highlights a reality: the long-standing desire of tourists to experience authentic local culture has not been realized in a timely manner, but not every locality has been able to translate this into concrete products. For many years, the tourism industry has discussed exploiting the depth of local culture and identity, and developing sustainable tourism linked to the community. However, the gap between policy and actual products remains quite large. Evidence of this is the numerous similar tourism models across the country, while tourists are increasingly seeking something different. This has diminished the appeal of tourism and even led to failures, with night markets being a prime example.

In fact, Hue also faces many challenges related to developing in-depth tourism products, although the ancient capital has many conditions to allow tourists to "connect with the original." As Mr. Tran Thanh Tu, Vice Chairman of the Hue City Tourism Association and Director of Tu Tran Trading & Tourism Company Limited, noted, the word "connect" is very fitting for Hue, because the land of Huong Ngu has many profound values. With its rich heritage system and diverse landscapes, from the Tam Giang river system and lagoons to the mountainous areas; from traditional craft villages to unique culinary culture, Hue has almost all the conditions to develop authentic tourism products. In fact, one could say Hue has an "abundance" of resources. But this very "abundance" becomes a paradox. When resources are dispersed, lacking concentrated investment and strong enough businesses to lead, tourism products easily fall into a fragmented state, lacking depth and competitiveness. "For example, many products in the A Lưới and Nam Đông areas are still on a spontaneous or small scale, not strong enough to become flagship products, while businesses see the opportunity but lack the financial capacity to invest," Mr. Tú lamented.

From an insider's perspective, Mr. Ho Thanh Tu, Chairman of the Da Nang Tourism Association, acknowledges that Hue possesses, and even surpasses Da Nang in terms of, tourism resources. However, creating "touchpoints" is not just about resources, but about the approach. All components in the supply chain, from travel agencies and accommodation establishments to service providers and the community, must truly connect to create a complete and fulfilling experiential journey.

“In fact, Da Nang has been preparing for this for a long time. The trend is that tourists want to freely explore and experience, without being constrained by tours, so businesses have developed products accordingly. Since 2020, Da Nang has implemented product packages so that tourists can comfortably experience everything, including group tours. This is also a way to encourage tourists to return many times, through multiple ‘touch points’ and different experiences that Hue can absolutely offer,” Mr. Tu said.

To bring tourists closer to Hue.

In 2025, Hue will host the National Tourism Year. This is not only a series of events to promote tourism but also an opportunity to reflect on itself, confront bottlenecks, and shape new strategies. Tourism leaders also stated that it is an opportunity for Hue to reposition its tourism product portfolio. It is time for Hue to strongly restructure its tourism products.

Besides the tourism and service development projects and plans for 2026, the People's Committee recently issued Plan No. 188/KH-UBND dated April 2, 2026, on the development of ecotourism and community tourism for the period 2026-2027. A highlight is the city's orientation towards developing ecotourism and community tourism according to four distinct experiential zones: the Heritage Zone - Perfume River - traditional craft villages and Hue gardens; the coastal zone - Tam Giang lagoon - fishing village culture and fishing livelihoods; the mountainous zone - waterfall ecology - indigenous ethnic culture; and the agricultural ecological zone - rural villages - OCOP experience. This could be a very important step to effectively exploit the potential and advantages of natural resources, cultural values, traditional craft villages, etc., forming distinctive tourism products according to each ecological space, contributing to diversifying the city's tourism product ecosystem.

Based on this foundation, the tourism industry, related sectors, localities, and businesses need both short-term and long-term solutions to develop new, innovative, and distinctive tourism products. This will enhance the attractiveness and competitiveness of Hue as a tourist destination.

According to Ho Thanh Tu, Chairman of the Da Nang Tourism Association, to bring tourists closer to Hue, the locality needs to continue investing in transportation infrastructure, especially air routes; attract large, pioneering businesses; and foster unity and cooperation throughout the entire service supply system. Meanwhile, according to Tu Tran, Vice Chairman of the Hue City Tourism Association and Director of Tu Tran Trading & Tourism Company, to attract large investors, Hue needs more specific planning for each area with clear functions and requirements. With investors of sufficient vision and commitment, developing products that reflect original values ​​will be easier.

Clearly, Hue has no shortage of resources, nor does it lack stories to tell. What Hue needs is a way of telling stories that is captivating enough to make visitors not just arrive, but linger, feel deeply, and remember it forever. To achieve this, the only way is to allow visitors to "connect with the original" through concrete products.

Text and photos: HUU PHUC

Source: https://huengaynay.vn/du-lich/de-du-lich-hue-cham-vao-nguyen-ban-164700.html