To make every trip of French tourists to Vietnam an experience of cultural connection and friendship

Held at the Vietnam Cultural Center in France, the Vietnam tourism promotion program attracted the attention of many travel agencies and tourism companies in France.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Mr. Nguyen Trung Khanh, Director of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, affirmed that this tourism promotion event is not simply a promotional activity, but also a vivid symbol of the connection between two countries with a long history of historical, cultural and people-to-people relations.

Director Nguyen Trung Khanh emphasized that General Secretary To Lam 's visit to France in 2024 is an important milestone contributing to strengthening and promoting deeper cooperation between the two countries, including in the tourism sector.

In recent times, Vietnam and France have implemented many effective bilateral tourism cooperation, such as signing cooperation documents and implementing an open policy towards French tourists. Specifically, Vietnam has applied a unilateral visa exemption policy for French citizens since 2015 and increased the length of stay to 45 days from August 15, 2023.

Mr. Nguyen Trung Khanh, Director of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, emphasized that each trip to Vietnam will not only be a vacation, but also an experience connecting culture and friendship between the people of the two countries.

In 2024, Vietnam welcomed nearly 279,000 French visitors, reaching 97% compared to the pre-pandemic period. Notably, in the first quarter of 2025, the number of French visitors increased by more than 28% compared to the same period last year, with more than 102,000 arrivals, demonstrating the sustainable attractiveness of Vietnam as a destination for French tourists.

In addition to specialized tourism products imbued with national identity in localities with the strength of heritage, Vietnam also exploits specialized products for tourists with sophisticated tastes such as culinary classes, visits to traditional craft villages, pilgrimages, health care tourism, community tourism, etc.

On the other hand, the historical and cultural similarities and exchanges between Vietnam and France, expressed through the architecture, cuisine and urban spaces in cities such as Hanoi, Saigon, Hue, Da Lat, Hoi An, etc., bring familiar yet novel experiences to French tourists. From there, each trip to Vietnam will not only be a vacation but also an experience connecting the culture and friendship between the people of the two countries.

Besides calling on leading partners and tourism businesses in France to cooperate to build unique tourism products, Ambassador Dinh Toan Thang affirmed that in the context of global tourism recovery, this is a golden time to further tighten the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between Vietnam and France, in which culture and tourism are two important pillars.

Speaking at the event, Vietnamese Ambassador to France Dinh Toan Thang affirmed that choosing France as a stopover for a series of international tourism promotion events clearly demonstrates the importance that Vietnam places on the French market.

This is a potential market with 279,000 French visitors to Vietnam in 2024. This impressive number is a testament to the growing appeal of Vietnam as a destination for European tourists.

According to Ambassador Dinh Toan Thang, each location in Vietnam has its own unique story, rich history, rich culture and diverse and beautiful natural landscapes that will create a unique experience for visitors.

Ambassador Dinh Toan Thang emphasized the great potential of promoting Vietnamese tourism through cinema, a powerful channel of emotional connection with the international public. The Ambassador expressed his wish to welcome French filmmakers to explore, cooperate and create in Vietnam.

Vietnamese and French tourism businesses actively met, exchanged information, and sought cooperation opportunities during the networking session on the afternoon of May 12.

Previously, the meeting to connect trade between Vietnamese and French tourism businesses opened up many opportunities to introduce products, services, and attractive stimulus programs to French travel businesses and tourism companies. In addition, the meeting contributed to promoting investment cooperation, developing tourism services in many diverse segments and categories, as well as promoting destinations more effectively.

Sharing with Nhan Dan Newspaper reporters, Mr. Nguyen Trung Khanh said: The program to promote Vietnamese tourism in Europe is identified as one of the key activities in 2025 of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

This is a specific activity in the effort to implement Resolution No. 25 of the Government to promote the country's economic development, in which the tourism industry plays a pivotal role with ambitious goals.

Vietnam’s tourism industry expects to welcome 22 to 23 million international visitors, serve 120 to 130 million domestic visitors, and earn total revenue of about VND1 quadrillion this year. However, the global tourism market is still recovering from the crisis, posing many challenges to these goals.

Building on the strong recovery results in 2024, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will launch seven tourism promotion activities abroad, with Europe as a strategic market with two main programs.

The first program is currently being implemented in three countries: Italy, Switzerland and France, marking a strong presence of Vietnamese tourism in traditional markets. The second program will be held next June in three other European countries including Germany, Spain and Poland.

The royal dance "Luc cung hoa dang" is a crystallization of music, religious and folk dance techniques, often performed on the holy longevity, longevity, longevity and Mu worshiping days in the royal court.

In addition to removing barriers to entry procedures with flexible visa policies, Vietnam is making efforts to deploy a direct flight from Hanoi to Milan operated by Vietnam Airlines, expected to be operational from July 2025.

According to Mr. Nguyen Trung Khanh, French tourists are considered an important customer group with high spending characteristics, long stays and the need to experience culture as well as explore nature, which are outstanding strengths of Vietnamese tourism.

The royal dance "Trinh Tuong Tap Khanh" depicts the four heavenly pillars of heaven obeying God's command and descending to earth to bless, bring warmth, prosperity and happiness to the king and the people.

For her part, Ms. Hoang Thi Kim Anh, Director of the Tourism Development Support Fund, assessed France as a special market, sharing common connections with Vietnam in many aspects such as culture, history and community.

She affirmed that in the coming time, tourism will play a role as one of Vietnam's key economic sectors. At the same time, developing and promoting tourism is an indispensable factor in the country's sustainable economic development strategy.

The art of Hue royal cuisine is introduced in the program, an indispensable part in encouraging French tourists' curiosity about Vietnamese culture. The dishes are presented as a work of art, showing the sophistication and delicacy of Vietnamese cuisine, aiming to satisfy the refined tastes of French tourists.

Mr. Nguyen Tien Hoang, Head of Vietnam Airlines Representative Office in France and Europe, said that Vietnam Airlines is actively consolidating and expanding its flight network to European countries. Currently, the airline is operating direct flights from Vietnam to major destinations such as France, Germany, Italy and the UK. In 2026, Vietnam Airlines is researching and planning to develop new products, aiming to expand its flight network to other potential destinations in Europe, including Denmark.

Mr. Nguyen Tien Hoang emphasized: Vietnam Airlines not only plays the role of an airline, but also an important bridge in bringing international tourists closer to the beautiful country of Vietnam and the friendly Vietnamese people.

Source: https://nhandan.vn/de-moi-chuyen-di-cua-du-khach-phap-toi-viet-nam-la-mot-trai-nghiem-ket-noi-van-hoa-va-huu-nghi-post879272.html