Tourists visit the Hue Imperial Citadel and experience wearing the traditional Ao Dai dress. Photo: Dinh Hoang.

That was the time when, at the historical sites within the Hue Imperial Citadel complex, on May 1st alone, ticket sales revenue reached over 4.2 billion VND with nearly 40,000 visitors. And in just 5 days of the holiday from April 30th to May 1st, the total number of tourists to Hue was estimated at over 600,000, an increase of over 70% compared to the same period last year; tourism revenue in those 5 days was estimated at 1,350 billion VND, an increase of 85% compared to the same period last year.

With these impressive figures, the term "golden goose" used to describe the benefits that tourism brings is clearly evident. Specifically at the Hue Imperial Citadel, with the appeal of the "Mystical Palace" program, experts believe that Hue's heritage has "touched" the concept of "cultural industry" - a major goal that Hue is striving for.

However, at the recent seminar "Hue in the process of 40 years of renewal with the country (1986 - 2026)" organized by the Hue City Historical Science Association, experts pointed out the current difficulties of Hue tourism such as: Air infrastructure not yet connected to many domestic and international locations; tourism revenue is still much lower than many other localities. In particular, nighttime tourism products to retain tourists are lacking and not diverse enough, which experts likened to a "nighttime void".

Filling the "nighttime void" in Hue has been a long-standing concern for decades. Many suggestions have been proposed, such as creating nighttime districts within the Citadel, adjacent to the Imperial Citadel. During festivals, the Imperial Citadel has seen some nighttime activities, but these haven't been sustainable. After the festival, the Citadel closes again at night. Currently, the idea of ​​developing nighttime services in the Chi Lang - Gia Hoi old town area is gaining traction.

Without going into too much detail, given the surge in tourists to Hue during the recent holiday, what can be done to ensure Hue and the Imperial Citadel remain consistently vibrant with sustainable tourism products unique to Hue? After the "Mystical Imperial Palace" program, what else will the Imperial Citadel offer to shape tours and itineraries?

In an interview about their long-term vision, the leaders of the Hue Imperial Citadel Conservation Center expressed their hope that the "Mystical Imperial Palace" project would serve as a test for their long-term strategy. Initially, it aims to introduce the destination, create appeal, and encourage tourists to visit the heritage site at night. However, the larger goal of "Mystical Imperial Palace" is to create a synergistic effect on the entire local tourism industry, such as extending the length of stay, driving the development of services outside the heritage site, and increasing tourist spending. Nevertheless, the challenge in attracting a large number of tourists to the Imperial Citadel at night is ensuring the safety of the relics and artifacts.

Finding a balance between economic development based on cultural and heritage tourism while ensuring the preservation and protection of heritage and landscapes remains a difficult challenge for Hue. Therefore, the slogan "Half of Vietnam Comes to Hue" must carefully consider the choice between mass tourism and high-quality tourism. This will determine the strategy for shaping and investing in the right tourism products.

Decades ago, the question of whether Hue should aggressively develop budget tourism was raised, due to the challenge of balancing development and preservation in an ancient city. Hue, being a small, charming ancient city, certainly cannot compete in terms of tourism volume with Ha Long or Ho Chi Minh City.

In the long term, once tourism products derived from heritage exploitation meet three criteria—being rich in Hue's cultural identity, high-quality, and creating sustainable economic benefits while harmonizing heritage preservation and development—Hue tourism will certainly have a firm foothold.

Nguyen Quan

Source: https://huengaynay.vn/du-lich/khi-mot-nua-viet-nam-den-hue-165610.html