International tourists arrive in Hue by sea.

Bright colors

In just four days, the 2024 "Rural Market Festival" at Thanh Toan tiled bridge (June 27-30), Thuy Thanh commune attracted over 200,000 visitors. The festival included not only local residents but also domestic and international tourists. Ms. Phan Thi Van Anh, from Binh Duong, shared: "I was truly impressed by the festival here. The tranquil rural scenery and the festival activities evoked wonderful emotions in visitors. Perhaps that's why, even though this place is outside the city, visitors still want to come here."

In the first six months of 2024, Thua Thien Hue province hosted numerous festivals and events, particularly the Hue International Arts Festival Week. The scenic beauty, the friendly people of the ancient capital, and the vibrant festival events added to the appeal of Hue tourism. In the first six months, the number of visitors to Hue was estimated at over 1.95 million, a 24.6% increase compared to the same period last year; of which, international visitors accounted for over 821,200, a 42.6% increase compared to the same period last year.

The number of overnight stays in the first six months of the year marked a new growth rate, with 20.1% compared to the same period last year (estimated at 983,589), of which international overnight stays were estimated at nearly 362,000, an increase of 36% compared to the same period last year. These positive results led to a 10.9% increase in tourism revenue compared to the same period last year, estimated at over 4 trillion VND.

The "Ao Dai and Cycling for the Environment" event was organized by the Department of Tourism.

In fact, tourism in the Hue region is not only growing in terms of visitor numbers. A positive sign is that accommodation establishments in Hue have once again been honored by prestigious international organizations. Besides the Silk Path Hue Hotel winning the ASEAN Green Hotel 2024 title in the MICE venue category and the Vedana Lagoon resort (Phu Loc district) being honored in the Best Hotel Architecture category at the “Asia Pacific Property Awards 2023-2024” ceremony, recently, the world's leading travel website Travel + Leisure, Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Macau edition, announced the list of nominees for the prestigious Luxury Awards Asia Pacific 2024, in which Azerai La Residence Hue was named. This hotel was ranked number 1 in the Best Upcountry Hotels in Vietnam category. Besides Azerai La Residence Hue, Banyan Tree Lang Co and Alba Wellness Valley By Fusion also received high rankings in this category and the Hotel Spas category.

Mr. Nguyen Van Phuc, Director of the Department of Tourism, shared that a noteworthy point is that the hotels in Hue that were honored are all establishments focusing on wellness and health care services – something that Hue tourism is currently concentrating on. It can be seen that the awards tend to recognize Hue as, and will continue to be, a destination for health and wellness tourism – a product that positively complements cultural heritage tourism, which is considered the core product of Hue. “The tourism industry has been linking, exploiting, and developing health and wellness tourism. Recently, the Hue tourism industry organized a famtrip program through many tourist destinations in line with the trend of regional linkage. Notably, health and wellness services for both body and mind in Hue, which travel businesses have experienced, have been offered as tours to customers, starting from March 9, 2024,” Mr. Phuc shared.

Another piece of good news is that Hue's tourism infrastructure has just received another boost with the official recognition of La Vela Hue Hotel as a 5-star hotel by the Director General of the Vietnam National Tourism Administration, bringing the total number of 5-star hotels in Hue to nine. In addition, two high-end beachfront resort hotels in Vinh Thanh and Lang Co, each with over 100 rooms, are preparing to open. The addition of these luxury hotels will help Hue better meet the needs of tourists.

Taking Hue tourism to the next level.

Hue tourism is entering the first half of 2024 and is moving towards its goal of attracting 3,500-4,000 visitors. Looking at the tourism landscape over the past period and the assessments of the international community, the press, and tourists from all over the world, the milestone set at the beginning of 2024 for Hue tourism is achievable.

Hue's tourism industry is expanding and developing strongly in both domestic and international markets. Mr. Truong Thanh Minh, Director of the Tourism Information and Promotion Center, stated that the province's tourism sector is effectively implementing measures to open up the international tourist market. A positive sign is that Thua Thien Hue is connecting to develop a regular charter flight route with Taiwan (China) to Phu Bai International Airport, expected to begin in early September 2024. Regarding sea travel, the Department of Tourism and related units have been working with Royal Caribbean Group (RCG) to strengthen cooperation, improve the infrastructure of Chan May – Lang Co port, optimize immigration and customs procedures, and add activities that offer tourists unique experiences of the beauty and culture of Vietnam in general and Thua Thien Hue in particular.

The Central Vietnam Heritage Connection tourist train route (Hue - Da Nang), a result of cooperation between Thua Thien Hue province, Da Nang city, and Vietnam Railways Corporation, has been operating since the end of March 2024. It diversifies transportation options to Hue and is a "hot" experiential product for this summer's tourism season.

In addition to developing, renewing, and improving tourism products, the provincial tourism industry is also implementing tourism promotion and advertising through various channels. Specifically, the provincial tourism industry continues its program to attract bloggers, KOLs, vloggers, and inspirational figures to Hue to promote Hue's tourism image further through social media platforms. This approach will be given more attention in the future to quickly spread the image of Hue as a safe, friendly, and attractive tourist destination within the community.

Mr. Phuc shared that Hue, as the leader of the tourism development linkage group of 5 localities: Thua Thien Hue - Da Nang - Quang Nam - Quang Binh - Quang Tri, the Provincial Department of Tourism is focusing on effectively linking with a number of key provinces/cities and regions nationwide and participating in regional tourism promotion activities in 2024. Many collaborative promotional programs at several annual domestic tourism fairs and international promotional programs have increasingly brought the image of tourism in the region in general, and Thua Thien Hue in particular, to the tourism business community and tourists worldwide.

There isn't much time left in the year, but it's enough for Hue's tourism industry to continue writing its happy chapters. Besides implementing solutions to upgrade tourism products and services and promoting them, Hue tourism will organize activities and festivals effectively, creating highlights to attract visitors to the ancient capital.

Furthermore, Thua Thien Hue has the support of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism as the host province for the National Tourism Year 2025. This will be a great opportunity for the province and the tourism industry to review and prepare resources, activities, and products to launch next year, focusing on strong communication on various information channels about this major event.

Text and photos: HUU PHUC