Developing the ao dai (Vietnamese traditional dress) into a 'living element' for tourism in Ho Chi Minh City.

Today, the ao dai is not only a traditional garment but is gradually becoming a bridge between the past, present, and future in the cultural development journey of Ho Chi Minh City. From a national cultural symbol, the ao dai is being "revived" by experts, researchers, and travel businesses by incorporating it into experiential tourism tours, contributing to creating a distinctive product for the tourism industry of the city named after President Ho Chi Minh.

The Ho Chi Minh City Ao Dai Festival 2025, taking place on June 21, 22 and 28, is spreading many cultural values ​​regarding the preservation and development of the Ao Dai in the tourism industry.

Discover the soul of Vietnam through the Ao Dai.

At the seminar "Developing cultural tourism tours exploring the traditional Vietnamese dress (áo dài) in Ho Chi Minh City," recently held at the Ho Chi Minh City Book Street, many cultural and tourism managers and researchers exchanged and shared solutions to transform the áo dài into a new tourism product and open tours exploring and experiencing the culture of wearing the áo dài.

Ms. Anna Hanh Le, Acting President of the Ho Chi Minh City Ao Dai Association, stated that the ao dai is not merely a traditional garment but also embodies cultural, historical, aesthetic stories and the emotions of many generations of Vietnamese people. “Each ao dai symbolizes gratitude to the hardworking mothers, devoted aunts, teachers, soldiers who defended independence, and artisans who preserved the soul of the nation through every stitch,” Ms. Anna Hanh Le said.

Therefore, according to Ms. Anna Hanh Le, honoring and promoting the value of the ao dai cannot be limited to fashion shows or regular festivals. For long-term preservation, the ao dai needs to "live" in contemporary life, be associated with service industries, especially tourism – which creates opportunities for the ao dai to reach a wider international community and domestic people.

Locals and tourists comfortably wear the traditional ao dai dress at major cultural and tourism events in Ho Chi Minh City.

Sharing the same view, Ms. Nguyen Thi Kim Oanh, Head of Communications at the Southern Vietnam Women's Museum, said that turning the ao dai (Vietnamese traditional dress) into a tourism product is a promising direction. "In fact, many international tourists visiting Vietnam express a desire to try on the ao dai. This is a very natural curiosity and fondness for such an aesthetically pleasing and meaningful cultural symbol," Ms. Kim Oanh stated.

Ms. Kim Oanh also added that at the Southern Vietnam Women's Museum, the collections of traditional and modern ao dai (Vietnamese traditional dress) are always a major attraction. If a tour could be developed connecting points such as the Women's Museum, the City Museum, traditional ao dai tailoring workshops, and streets with historical significance where people once wore ao dai as part of their daily lives, it would not only help tourists gain a deeper understanding of history but also create a unique and distinctive tourism product.

From the Ao Dai Festival to innovative tourism products.

The Ho Chi Minh City Ao Dai Festival over the years has proven the appeal of this cultural symbol to both domestic and international tourists. In 2025, the 11th Ao Dai Festival attracted nearly 3.6 million visitors, bringing in over 19 trillion VND in revenue for Ho Chi Minh City's tourism industry in March alone. This figure is enough to affirm the special position of the Ao Dai in the city's cultural and tourism event map.

According to tourism experts, to preserve the ao dai (Vietnamese traditional dress), it is first necessary to develop cultural tourism tours with a focus on the ao dai. For example, tours like "A Day as a Vietnamese" (wearing an ao dai, learning to cook, making cakes, practicing calligraphy), "Saigon Streets in Ao Dai" (taking photos and walking at historical landmarks), or "Memory Tailoring Workshop" (visiting traditional tailoring shops, having custom-made clothes made to measure) are considered feasible and have great potential...

Vietnamese women wear the ao dai to celebrate timeless beauty.

Mr. Huynh Quoc Thang, Vice President of the Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Association, said that organizing the Ho Chi Minh City Ao Dai Festival, the Ao Dai Culture Day... not only honors the beauty of Vietnamese culture but also opens up opportunities to promote Vietnamese tourism. Every Vietnamese person feels proud to wear the traditional Ao Dai. For tourists, wearing the Ao Dai is both enjoyable and intriguing, allowing them to experience and learn about Vietnamese culture. If tourism companies and organizations focus on promoting it, it will help the Ao Dai become a living heritage, spreading strongly to the world.

According to a representative from the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism, to promote the ao dai (Vietnamese traditional dress) as a globally recognized heritage, inter-sectoral coordination is needed, encompassing tourism, culture, education, and media. In Ho Chi Minh City, hotels and accommodation establishments could be encouraged to incorporate ao dai into their service experiences; a "Ao Dai Street" could be created in the city center, featuring museums, design shops, and photo spaces dedicated to ao dai.

Activities such as regular ao dai fashion shows, cultural festivals featuring ao dai, and ao dai design competitions for young people will help keep the ao dai vibrant in modern life. In particular, campaigns promoting Vietnam's image to the world should choose the ao dai as a recognizable symbol and should also invest in digitalization, research into the history and evolution of the ao dai to better serve tourists and the younger generation.

"In the strategy for developing sustainable and culturally rich tourism, the ao dai (Vietnamese traditional dress) is a golden opportunity for the city to build an innovative tourism product that connects culture with experiences. If intelligently integrated, the ao dai will continue to be a source of pride and a 'wing' carrying Vietnamese culture to the world," the representative added.

According to the News

Source: https://bvhttdl.gov.vn/phat-trien-ao-dai-tro-thanh-chat-lieu-songcho-du-lich-tp-ho-chi-minh-20250624094245957.htm