Culinary tourism, a "lever" for developing Hue tourism

NDO - Building the brand “Hue – Capital of Cuisine” is a strategic step to promote Hue tourism by honoring the unique culinary culture of the locality. This positioning not only creates a new and attractive appearance for Hue tourism but also contributes to preserving traditional cultural values.

Cuisine has long been an indispensable part of tourism, but since the early 2000s, it has been elevated to become a separate type of tourism – culinary tourism.

According to the Hue City Department of Tourism: Culinary tourism has gone through three distinct stages of development. The period 2001-2012 was the period of defining and shaping the concept; from 2012-2018 was the period of perfecting the theory and model, many countries such as Thailand, Indonesia, Spain have included culinary tourism in the national strategy. From 2018 to now is the boom period, when culinary tours, culinary festivals, promotional media, and tourist spending increased sharply, creating great economic value for the destination.

For Hue – a land rich in culinary identity, notably the royal dishes of the Nguyen Dynasty – this is an opportunity to promote its unique advantages. Many tourists come to Hue because they want to discover the original flavors of dishes such as mussel rice, beef noodle soup, Hue cakes, Hue sweet soup...

What international visitors love is the taste of the food, the freshness, the atmosphere and the friendliness. Domestic visitors appreciate the sophistication, variety and reasonable prices. In addition to enjoying the food, many people also join cooking tours to learn more about the art of preparing Hue dishes.

Tourists participate in the program Hue - Culinary Capital from April 29 to May 2 at Thuong Bac Park - Hue.

However, according to Ms. Tran Thi Hoai Tram, Director of Hue City Department of Tourism, the current situation shows that culinary tourism in Hue still has many limitations: Some culinary cultural values ​​are being distorted or lost; products lack creativity, are still heavily commercial, and service quality is uneven. In addition, Hue cuisine has not been exploited as an independent product but is often integrated into other tourism programs, leading to the failure to fully exploit its inherent potential.

Faced with these shortcomings, Hue city has implemented the plan "Hue - Capital of Vietnamese cuisine - Wonderful enjoyment", systematically orienting the development of culinary tourism.

The plan includes: Building brands for Hue cuisine (royal, folk, vegetarian, street, lagoon...); designing Hue cuisine identity and a system of standard restaurants; encouraging the restoration of heritage dishes; organizing specialized culinary tours and related events such as festivals, seminars, chef competitions, vocational training programs...

Hue - the land of beef noodle soup, ham, and pork.

In addition, Hue also focuses on preserving and spreading culinary values ​​through communication work, raising public awareness, and calling for domestic and foreign cooperation to promote Hue cuisine more effectively and professionally.

The city is promoting the construction of a heritage profile for royal cuisine, recreating dishes from “Thuc pho bach thien”, organizing festivals in a typical culinary space and digitizing 3D Hue dishes for long-term promotion and preservation. This is also a preparation step for the goal of joining the UNESCO Creative Cities Network in the culinary field.

Ms. Tran Thi Hoai Tram, Director of Hue City Department of Tourism, said: Building the brand “Hue – Culinary Capital” is not only a tourism development strategy, but also a commitment to preserve and promote the cultural heritage of the ancient capital. However, for this brand to spread and be sustainable, it requires perseverance and close coordination between the government, businesses and people over a long period of time.

"... From simple, rustic dishes such as mussel rice, beef noodle soup, banh beo, nam, loc... to elaborate royal dishes such as nem cong, cha phuong or bat buu, each dish carries the breath of Hue - profound, elegant and rich in identity. With the sophistication in preparation, the harmony in flavor and the elegance in presentation, Hue cuisine is not only dishes but also stories about the history, culture and people of Hue....", said Ms. Tran Thi Hoai Tram, Director of Hue City Department of Tourism at the opening ceremony of the Hue - Culinary Capital 2025 Program.

Source: https://nhandan.vn/du-lich-am-thuc-don-bay-phat-trien-du-lich-hue-post876663.html