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| Hue tourism attracts visitors through various gravitational festivals |
Lots of good news in a row
In the early morning of July 2nd, the provincial tourism sector, in collaboration with other relevant departments and agencies, welcomed 230 passengers from Kunming City (Yunnan Province, China) to Hue. This marked the first international flight arriving at Terminal 2 - Phu Bai International Airport. The bright smiles on the faces of passengers as they set foot on Hue's airport signal the optimistic opportunities for tourism from open international flight routes.
In the first six months of 2023, the number of tourists reached over 1.6 million, with approximately 845,892 overnight stays. The total revenue from tourism in the first half of the year is estimated to have reached nearly 3,500 billion VND, marking a 148% increase compared to the same period in 2022.
These growth figures are promising signs for the tourism industry of the Ancient Capital and signify a recovery after a prolonged period of impact from the COVID-19 pandemic. In reality, the picture of Hue tourism is now much brighter, as it receives high praise from tourists and international organizations.
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| International tourists arriving in Hue by air |
At the end of May 2023, during the announcement ceremony of the “Asia Pacific Property Awards 2023 – 2024” held at the Marriott Marquis Queen's Park Hotel in Bangkok, Thailand, Vedana Lagoon Resort of Thua Thien Hue province was honored in the Best Hotel Architecture category.
Recently, good news came to the tourism sector in Thua Thien Hue as many hotels and resorts in the area received high rankings in prestigious awards such as the “Travel & Leisure Luxury Awards Asia Pacific 2023” and achieved remarkable positions in the rankings of the world's largest online travel platform, Tripadvisor.
Mr. Nguyen Van Phuc, Director of the Department of Tourism, stated that at the “Travel & Leisure Luxury Awards Asia Pacific 2023” for travel destinations, Hue city ranked 8th in the Asia-Pacific region in the “Cities” category (with only two cities from Vietnam, Hanoi and Hue). In addition, Azerai La Residence Hue Hotel ranked as the No.1 hotel in Vietnam in the “Upcountry Hotels” category. Banyan Tree Lang Co (in Phu Loc) ranked 6th in Vietnam in the “Hotel Spas” category. Alba Wellness Valley by Fusion (in Phong Dien) ranked 3rd in Vietnam in the “Hotel Spas” category and 5th in Vietnam in the “Upcountry Hotels” category of the Travel & Leisure Luxury Awards Asia Pacific 2023.
Most recently, the Michelin Guide (France) has just list 10 luxury hotels as recommendations to stay at in Vietnam, and Hue was among the leading destinations with two hotels: Banyan Tree Lang Co, located by the coast in Phu Loc district, and Azerai La Residence, situated by the Huong River in Hue city. Banyan Tree Lang Co scored 19.7 out of 20 points, while Azerai La Residence received 18 points.
The high evaluations of these hotels not only affirm their top-quality services but also serve as evidence of the collective efforts of the hotel staff in successfully creating a unique and prestigious hospitality experience. It also showcases the progress and allure of tourism in the region of Huong River – Ngu Mountain.
Opening up the international market
Since the opening of Terminal 2 at Phu Bai International Airport, Thua Thien Hue’s tourism sector has gained more potential to develop the local spearhead economic sector.
The Ancient Capital’s tourism industry has been actively promoting and publicizing the local image and tourism products. Simultaneously, it provides advice to the provincial government on favorable conditions and encouraging local tourism businesses to offer preferential pricing policies to airlines and travel agencies bringing tourists to Thua Thien Hue. The tourism sector is also supporting the connection and promotion of new products for local tourism businesses, especially in wellness tourism, MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions) tourism, traditional craft village tourism, and spiritual tourism to complement heritage tourism.
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| Tourists experiencing Hue on cyclo |
According to Mr. Nguyen Van Phuc, Thua Thien Hue is implementing the Four-Season Festival project to attract domestic and international tourists throughout the year. This creates favorable conditions and opportunities to increase flights and open new routes to and from Phu Bai International Airport; hence, contributing to promoting the province’s image, affirming its position, and fostering the socio-economic development of Thua Thien Hue province.
The strategy of Thua Thien Hue after the opening of Terminal 2 at Phu Bai International Airport includes developing domestic flights, exploring the possibility of opening flights to other destinations, prioritizing routes to Singapore and Thailand and expanding to other markets such as Macau and Taiwan as well as increasing the frequency of flights to and from Phu Bai International Airport. Particularly, after having the first flight from China to Terminal 2 - Phu Bai International Airport until the end of October, regular flights with an estimated frequency of 4-6 flights per month are expected, not only from Kunming City (Yunnan Province, China) but also from other cities in China and some countries in Northeast Asia.