Ho Chi Minh City: Exploiting the potential of Ao Dai in developing tourism products

On June 22, at Ho Chi Minh City Book Street, the discussion "Developing tours to explore the culture of clothing in Ho Chi Minh City" took place with the coordination of the Southern Women's Museum, Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Association and Ho Chi Minh City Ao Dai Association. This is one of the main activities in the Ho Chi Minh City Ao Dai Cultural Festival 2025, towards the 100th anniversary of Vietnam Revolutionary Press Day (June 21, 1925 - June 21, 2025) and Vietnam Family Day (June 28, 2025).

At the seminar, delegates and experts emphasized the great potential of bringing Ao Dai, a typical cultural symbol of Vietnamese people and becoming a unique tourism product in Ho Chi Minh City.

Ms. Anna Hanh Le, Acting President of the Ho Chi Minh City Ao Dai Association, said: “The annual Ao Dai Festival is not only an occasion to honor the traditional Ao Dai, but also contributes to promoting the sustainable development of the Vietnamese fashion industry. This is also an attractive tourism product, contributing to attracting a large number of tourists to Ho Chi Minh City."

According to Ms. Anna Hanh Le, each Ao Dai is not just a costume, but also contains a message of gratitude to previous generations, from hard-working mothers, teachers, to artisans who have preserved the national soul in every stitch.

“Today, to preserve and promote the value of Ao Dai, we can combine with the tourism industry, build products and tours associated with the cultural heritage of Ao Dai in Ho Chi Minh City in particular and Vietnam in general," said Anna Hanh Le.

Vietnamese women wearing ao dai also impress many tourists because of their graceful and gentle beauty.

From the museum’s perspective, Ms. Nguyen Thi Kim Oanh, Head of the Communications Department of the Southern Women’s Museum, also said that promoting the ao dai as a tourism product is a creative and potential direction. In fact, many international tourists when coming to Vietnam want to try on the ao dai, which shows the natural appeal of this traditional dress.

According to statistics from the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism, the 11th Ho Chi Minh City Ao Dai Festival in 2025 attracted nearly 3.6 million visitors, including 590,784 international visitors and nearly 3 million domestic visitors, generating revenue of more than VND 19,200 billion for the city's tourism industry in March. These impressive numbers further strengthen the role of Ao Dai as a "soft ambassador" for Vietnamese tourism and culture.

Ao dai is quite popular at tourist and cultural events of Ho Chi Minh City people.

A representative of the Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Association said that Ho Chi Minh City is currently facing the opportunity to develop cultural experience tours, in which the Ao Dai is the highlight. Tourism products can include Ao Dai photo tours at historical sites, Ao Dai tailoring experiences at traditional shops or Ao Dai performances at walking streets...

These initiatives not only contribute to preserving intangible cultural heritage but also create unique, rich and attractive tourism products for domestic and international tourists to Ho Chi Minh City.

Delegates visited the art photography exhibition with the theme "Moments of Saigon Ao Dai past and present" on June 21.

In addition to the discussion "Developing cultural tourism tours in Ho Chi Minh City", the series of activities of the Ao Dai Culture Festival also includes an art photography exhibition with the theme "Moments of Saigon Ao Dai past and present", displaying 100 works by 20 photographers to recreate the history of the development of Ao Dai from 1975 to the present, and the gala night "Ao Dai Tri An" taking place at the Youth Cultural House on the evening of June 28, promising to bring many emotions and spread love for the traditional Ao Dai.

Source: https://bvhttdl.gov.vn/tp-ho-chi-minh-khai-thac-tiem-nang-ao-dai-trong-phat-trien-san-pham-du-lich-20250623085216765.htm