Hai Phong: Turning century-old heritage into a golden product of inner-city tourism

Hai Phong has identified inner-city tourism as one of the core tourism products, opening up a sustainable and different direction for the smokeless industry.

In October 2025 alone, Hai Phong City welcomed and served nearly 1 million visitors, an increase of 7.76% over the same period last year. This figure not only affirms the strong attraction of Hai Phong but also demonstrates the successful transformation from seasonal tourism model to sustainable "four-season tourism" model. On this growth momentum, the development of inner-city tourism products, exploiting the rich history and unique architecture, is identified as a strategic and potential direction.

Urban core - golden material for heritage tourism

Hai Phong possesses a rich system of relics and French colonial architectural works, creating an ideal foundation for the formation of unique inner-city tours. In the heart of the city, the central streets with the Baroque-style City Theater, the neoclassical Hai Phong Railway Station built in 1902, and ancient French villas are ideal materials for “city walk” products, “storytelling tours” or urban photography.

Hai Phong Opera House was built in Baroque architecture - a unique architectural art trend from the late 16th century to the mid-18th century.

According to the Master Plan for Hai Phong Tourism Development to 2025, with a vision to 2030, inner-city tourism is identified as one of the core products, focusing on exploiting the architectural and culinary values ​​of the core urban area. These values, together with the Sau Kho wharf area (the predecessor of Hai Phong Port) and Hoang Dieu Port - the place marking the event of President Ho Chi Minh setting foot in Hai Phong in 1946, create a tourism product with special appeal.

Mr. Vo Quoc Thai - Chairman of Hai Phong Architects Association emphasized that Hai Phong old quarter was formed in the late 19th century and has always held the position of the second largest city in the Northern region. The inner city has full values ​​of urban, architectural, landscape, culture and living activities. Hai Phong needs to make efforts to restore, reuse and simultaneously develop tangible and intangible cultural values ​​to protect the unique values ​​of one of the most beautiful historical cities in Vietnam.

In order for inner-city tourism to develop further, travel agencies and tourism businesses are not left out. Ms. Le Thu Ha - Director of Dora International Company Limited said, we always prioritize introducing destinations in Hai Phong to enhance image recognition, contributing to the development of local tourism. The inner-city area with its unique historical and culinary architectural values ​​is a valuable asset for our business to introduce to domestic and foreign tourists.

Mr. Nguyen Nam Phuong - Deputy Director of Vietravel Hai Phong branch said that the unit has launched the product "Free walking tour" for tourists to visit famous relics and landscapes in the city center such as Tam Bac Lake, City Theater, Central Post Office, and experience cuisine.

However, to make the product more suitable to the habits of Vietnamese tourists, Hai Phong should continue to maintain the operation of the electric car route to make it more convenient for tourists to travel after their experience - Mr. Phuong suggested.

Brand impression

To develop inner-city tourism, culinary tourism products and nightlife culture have become a distinctive brand, attracting thousands of young tourists every week in Hai Phong City. Without being fussy, traditional, rustic dishes such as crab noodles, spicy bread, crab spring rolls... have "told" the story of the life rhythm and beauty of Hai Phong people.

The recognition of Hai Phong Railway Station as a tourist destination in May 2025 has affirmed the historical and cultural value of this heritage.

Mr. Hoang Minh Tu - Director of VTS Digital Tourism Joint Stock Company believes that Hai Phong inner-city tourism possesses wonderful heritage materials, but to break through and attract young people, it is necessary to digitize and personalize the experience. Building a digital Foodtour map with AI to suggest itineraries will help tourists save time, easily personalize the culinary experience according to their preferences, instead of following a rigid route, which will be a big plus.

In addition, using 3D mapping to add value to historical architectural works such as the City Theater or Hai Phong Railway Station at night will create unique visual events, both honoring heritage and creating highly competitive night tourism products. This is the fastest way to turn static relics into attractive interactive stories - Mr. Tu shared.

To realize the goal of developing inner-city tourism, Hai Phong is implementing many synchronous solutions. Mr. Tran Van Ngoc - Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism said that the tourism industry will integrate smart tourism systems into the city's tourism portals in the near future, helping tourists experience and book tours and routes conveniently right on their phones, saving time and money.

In addition, Mr. Ngoc added that training a team of inner-city tour guides and community storytellers is a key factor. Tour guides not only need to understand history but also need the ability to inspire. Local people, restaurant owners, and artisans can also become "cultural ambassadors" if properly trained. Recently, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism organized a conference to promote and train to improve the quality of Hai Phong Foodtour products in 2025, providing detailed instructions on food safety and hygiene and promotion skills on social networks.

According to Mr. Nguyen Thanh Hung - Secretary of the Party Committee of Hong Bang Ward, the ward has 113 works of high cultural and artistic value out of a total of 300 works formed from the early days of French architecture in the city. This is a favorable condition to promote the heritage urban brand. To promote the value of heritage in the area, relevant units need to design specialized tours to explore French architecture and historical relics. Develop the night economy associated with heritage spaces including cuisine, street art performances, and cultural events.

Source: https://bvhttdl.gov.vn/hai-phong-bien-di-san-tram-nam-thanh-san-pham-vang-cua-du-lich-noi-do-20251114100814785.htm