Four-season rendezvous of Thanh land's fragrance

With diverse resources, rich nature and unique culture, Thanh Hoa is taking strategic steps to attract visitors all year round, affirming its position as a key tourist center of the North Central region in particular and the whole country in general.

Tourists check in with the green terraced fields in Pu Luong, Thanh Hoa . (Photo: HUYEN PHAM)

The symphony of sea-forest-heritage

Joining the famtrip group departing from Hanoi to explore Thanh Hoa tourism , we came to Pu Luong Nature Reserve - known as the "miniature Northwest" of Thanh Hoa.

Not only did we get to check in with the beautiful terraced fields and experience the amazing trekking route to see the majestic mountain and forest landscapes, we also got to visit villages, learn about the customs and practices of the Thai and Muong people and enjoy the services at quality eco-resorts.

Perhaps there are few places in the S-shaped strip of land that possess such complete natural, cultural and historical characteristics as Thanh Hoa. That is the reason why Thanh Hoa is considered as “Vietnam in miniature”.

If Pu Luong brings a feeling of freshness and greenness, the next destination - Lam Kinh relic site evokes a beauty with deep cultural and historical depth. Having the opportunity to listen to stories associated with the glorious period in the journey of building and defending the nation, we were also able to freely admire the architectural imprints of the post-Le period to better understand a prosperous feudal dynasty in history...

Perhaps there are few places on the S-shaped strip of land that possess such complete natural, cultural and historical characteristics as Thanh Hoa. That is the reason why Thanh Hoa is considered as “Vietnam in miniature”. Along with many beautiful beaches: Sam Son, Hai Tien, Hai Hoa,… this place also has winding mountains and rivers, diverse vegetation creating many famous landscapes, such as Ben En National Park, Cam Luong fish stream, Phi cave, Tien Son cave…

Besides, there are rich cultural resources, with the World Cultural Heritage of Ho Dynasty Citadel, 5 special national relics, more than 1,500 historical, cultural, architectural and scenic relics; and a system of folk performances, festivals, long-standing traditional craft villages... This is the invaluable material for Thanh Hoa to develop many rich types of tourism, imbued with local characteristics, from sea and island tourism to community eco-tourism, cultural and historical tourism, spiritual tourism, sports tourism...

In recent times, the province has promoted the organization of many large-scale cultural, sports and tourism activities to create highlights to attract visitors. Typical programs such as Sam Son Sea Tourism Festival, Pu Luong Culture and Tourism Week, Thanh Culture Festival, etc. have contributed to creating a positive media effect for the brand "Thanh Hoa Tourism - Four Seasons of Fragrance".

In 2025, the province has planned to organize up to 150 events, spreading the image of a safe, attractive and vibrant destination. In addition to investing heavily in infrastructure development, especially the transportation system connecting key tourist areas, Thanh Hoa also attracts many strategic investors in the resort tourism sector such as Sun Group, VinGroup, Flamingo... From there, large tourism-entertainment complexes are formed, creating a breakthrough for Thanh Hoa tourism space, forming a lever to attract high-quality visitors.

From potential to strategic action

The province's efforts have contributed to making tourism a growth driver. By the end of August 2025, Thanh Hoa tourism welcomed nearly 15 million visitors, an increase of 6.7% over the same period in 2024, with total tourism revenue reaching about VND 40,476 billion, an increase of 30.8% over the same period in 2024. Always in the top list of destinations nationwide attracting many tourists, Thanh Hoa's green economy has proven its ability and abundant potential to make a breakthrough.

However, experts say that Thanh Hoa tourism still needs to overcome "bottlenecks", especially seasonality and the ability to attract international visitors.

Ms. Vuong Thi Hai Yen, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Thanh Hoa, said that up to 70% of tourists come to Thanh Hoa for beach holidays; international visitors only account for 5% of the total number of visitors... these numbers are still low compared to the strengths of the local tourism resources. To fill those "gaps", a system of synchronous solutions is needed.

Chairman of the Vietnam Tourism Association Cao Tri Dung assessed that Thanh Hoa has a very diverse tourism resource ecosystem, but when placed in the overall competition of destinations of the country and the region, it has not created a clear advantage. Therefore, the "way out" for Thanh Hoa tourism is to identify the type of tourism that can create momentum to focus on investment. Mr. Dung suggested that it could be MICE tourism, sports tourism, especially community tourism, green eco-tourism associated with indigenous culture.

According to the Chairman of the Vietnam Tourism Association, Thanh Hoa is very suitable for developing these types of tourism because the western region is spread out with many residential communities, including ethnic minorities. This is the foundation for the province to exploit the "Four Seasons of Fragrance" product to attract international visitors - a group of visitors willing to pay high prices to experience green tourism, close to the community, learn about local culture...

Located in the strategic position of the main traffic system: National Highway 1A, Ho Chi Minh Road, North-South Expressway, Trans-Vietnam Railway, etc. with Tho Xuan Airport, Nghi Son deep-water seaport, Thanh Hoa also needs to further promote the ability to connect with localities and tourist regions across the country to form attractive tours and routes.

Ms. Ta Thi Uyen, Deputy Director of Vietravel Business Development Department, said that first of all, it is necessary to connect destinations within the province, then expand inter-regional connections. For example, by air, visitors can be taken from Ho Chi Minh City to Thanh Hoa, from there joining a journey to explore heritage sites: Thanh Hoa Citadel (Thanh Hoa) - Trang An (Ninh Binh) - Thang Long Imperial Citadel (Hanoi), Ha Long, Yen Tu (Quang Ninh), ending at Cat Bi Airport (Hai Phong); or by road, it is possible to form a route Hanoi - Ninh Binh - Thanh Hoa - Son La. Ms. Uyen commented that today's tourists, especially international tourists, are increasingly interested in in-depth experiences. The product can be shorter, easier to travel but must touch the emotions. The province's tourist attractions are quite far apart, so it is necessary to focus on increasing experiences, helping to create memorable impressions for visitors instead of just selling tickets for sightseeing, check-in, and listening to explanations as is currently the case.

Vietravel representative also suggested that Thanh Hoa should research and develop attractive policies for MICE tourism to attract large groups of visitors, because this is a suitable customer segment for tourism and has the potential to bring large revenue to the locality.

Chairman of Thanh Hoa Tourism Association Le Xuan Thao said that it is necessary to urgently build Tho Xuan airport into an international airport, cooperate strategically with major travel agencies in the world, promote the opening of direct or charter flights to Thanh Hoa from Korea, Japan, Thailand..., to make Thanh Hoa a tourism "hub" connecting the North and North Central regions. At the same time, it is necessary to continue organizing many events and festivals of international stature; build a multilingual tourism information portal and deploy promotional campaigns on digital platforms, cooperate with international travel bloggers and KOLs to spread the image of Thanh Hoa to the world.

TRANG ANH

Source: https://nhandan.vn/diem-hen-bon-mua-huong-sac-xu-thanh-post912998.html