International tourists experience tourism in Hue.

The key to competitiveness.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Mai, a tourist from Hanoi , visited Hue just in time for the opening of the National Tourism Year - Hue 2025. Having attended at least five opening ceremonies in various locations, Ms. Mai shared: “Hue has something very poetic about it, rich in cultural identity, and full of artistic flair, and I wanted to experience that difference on this trip.”

A quick survey of over a dozen tourists revealed an unsurprising result: their motivation for traveling across different regions was to seek unique and different experiences. Many tourists today no longer want to stay in one destination for too long, but prefer to spend time experiencing different places. Mr. Thai Nhat Van, a tourist from Binh Thuan, shared: “During the two long holidays of the year, Lunar New Year and the April 30th - May 1st holiday, my family usually plans trips, spending one day in each province or city. We can stay longer in places with more interesting experiences. The scenery and atmosphere of each destination are certainly different, but the unique experience my family wants is in the products and services. We want to be able to experience those feelings only when we go there.”

Compared to other localities nationwide, Hue possesses abundant tourism resources and diverse tourism types. Despite positive growth in visitor numbers in recent years, Hue's tourism sector has not yet reached its full potential. Recently, at the Lang Son tourism destination promotion conference in 2025 held in Hue City on the theme "Who will go to Lang Son with me…" organized by the Lang Son Provincial Investment, Trade and Tourism Promotion Center on the afternoon of March 24th, I was quite surprised by the information that the total number of visitors to this locality in 2024 reached over 4.2 million. This figure is larger than the nearly 3.9 million visitors in 2024 for Hue City. Leaving aside the statistical methods, there will inevitably be an implicit comparison, as Hue is a well-known destination, and in the past, when thinking about tourism in Vietnam, people associated it with Hue, Saigon, and Hanoi.

According to some tourism experts, with its potential and available resources, Hue's tourism industry started relatively early compared to many other provinces and cities in the Central and South Central regions. However, in the increasingly fierce competition, the province's position is being surpassed by younger, more dynamic tourist cities. In many types of tourism, Hue has only exploited the surface of its potential, failing to focus on the depth of its products in terms of professionalism, high quality, and creating distinctive, unique tourism products that differentiate itself. For example, while Hue has many beautiful beaches, its services are still "poor." Currently, it mainly offers only swimming and enjoying local cuisine.

Make a difference

According to many tourism experts, nowadays, tourists want to learn about the history, people, and stories behind each landmark, destination, and cultural aspect. If the stories are told effectively, each destination will become more attractive and memorable.

To be fair, Hue tourism has achieved many things. It has harmonized sustainable tourism development, developing while still doing a great job of preserving heritage values; it is one of the cities honored as a clean tourism city of ASEAN… However, the in-depth exploitation of tourism products, the creation of unique regional products, and the stimulation of tourists' desire to quickly visit and experience them are perhaps still lacking.

In a post on thesaigontimes.vn, Mr. Tran Quang Trung, Director of WorldTrans Company (Da Nang branch), stated that cultural tourism cannot be just about sightseeing but must create opportunities for tourists to immerse themselves in local life, from learning traditional crafts and participating in religious activities to enjoying folk art in a vibrant way. The development of tourism products needs to be based on the unique cultural identity of each region, avoiding copying or imitation. At the same time, systematic investment is needed to create products with depth and sustainable value, instead of fragmented, short-term development.

Recently, in his opening speech for the National Tourism Year - Hue 2025, Deputy Prime Minister Mai Van Chinh emphasized that in the coming time, the tourism industry needs to thoroughly implement the Prime Minister's directive in Directive No. 08/CT-TTg, dated February 23, 2024, on comprehensive, rapid, and sustainable tourism development with the motto "Unique products - Professional services - Convenient and simple procedures - Suitable prices - Clean and beautiful environment - Safe, civilized, and friendly destinations". One of the key tasks that the Deputy Prime Minister proposed is to implement comprehensive and synchronized solutions regarding planning and investment attraction to create distinctive and high-class tourism products linked to unique cultural heritage values.

According to Ms. Tran Thi Hoai Tram, Director of the Department of Tourism, in the coming time, Hue will focus on repositioning its tourism products to suit the market and new trends, ensuring the brand of Hue tourism. This includes developing high-class, professional, and distinctive tourism destinations, products, and services associated with culture and heritage; the coastal areas, lagoons, and the people of Hue. The focus will be on building tourism products bearing the Hue brand, improving the quality of heritage tourism associated with the Hue Imperial Citadel complex and Hue Royal Court Music.

Text and photos: HUU PHUC

Source: https://huengaynay.vn/du-lich/khac-biet-hoa-san-pham-de-hap-dan-du-khach-152394.html