Welcoming guests to Hue in the new year
On January 1, the Department of Tourism, in coordination with the Central Region Airport Customs at Phu Bai International Airport, Phu Bai International Airport, and the branch of the Vietnam Airlines Corporation in Hue, organized an event to welcome the first tourists to Thua Thien Hue by air in 2024. About 200 passengers on flight VN1541 from Hanoi to Hue set foot at Phu Bai International Airport. Mr. Nguyen Thanh Binh, Member of the Provincial Party Committee, Standing Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, was also present at the airport to welcome the first visitors to Hue.
The first group of passengers, along with the captain and chief flight attendant, was welcomed and presented with flowers and souvenirs to celebrate the new year by the leaders of the Provincial People's Committee, the Department of Tourism, the Tourism Association, Phu Bai International Airport, the Central Region Customs at Phu Bai International Airport, and the Vietnam Airlines Office in Hue. In particular, the luckiest two passengers were given two round-trip domestic air tickets from Vietnam Airlines and souvenirs from the Department of Tourism. Other passengers on the same flight also received souvenirs, enjoyed the welcoming art performance, and received New Year's wishes from the provincial leadership and the tourism industry of Thua Thien Hue.
The luckiest two passengers were given two round-trip domestic air tickets from Vietnam Airlines
Mr. Timotheus Und Adriane Hoettges, a German tourist and also a leader of a well-known company in his country, shared: "This is my first time in Vietnam. I have been to Hanoi and continued my journey to Hue and Da Nang. My impression of Hue is excellent, the people here are friendly and hospitable. I know that Hue has many beautiful landscapes, and I am very happy to travel and experience this land."
Leaders of the Department of Tourism stated that the event to welcome the first tourists to Thua Thien Hue by air in 2024 is the opening activity for a series of events and festivals associated with tourism in the province in 2024, such as the Spring Festival "Ancient Capital Spring," the Festival Welcoming the Summer, and especially Hue Festival 2024 with the theme "Cultural Heritage with Integration and Development"... at the same time, continue to promote and introduce the images of destinations, unique tourism products, and build the tourism brands "Hue - Festival City," "Hue - Culinary Capital," "Hue - the Capital of Ao Dai" to domestic and international tourists.
Visiting Hue this time, tourists will have many interesting experiences with various types of tourism in Hue. According to many tourists, the weather at the beginning of 2024 is relatively favorable, promising many interesting things in the first New Year's trip.
Expectations for breakthrough
In 2023, there was a strong recovery in the tourism industry with the resurgence of international tourists returning to the Vietnamese market in general and Thua Thien Hue in particular. In Thua Thien Hue, in 2023, there were 3.2 million visitors (an increase of 56% compared to 2022), notably the sharp increase in international visitors with 1.2 million (an increase of 361% compared to 2022, international visitors accounted for 36.8%, higher than the initial estimate of about 25-30%). The tourism revenue reached VND 6,606 billion, achieving the target set for 2023. The top 10 markets for visitors to Hue in 2023 were Taiwan, Thailand, the United States, Malaysia, France, England, Australia, Germany, Spain, and South Korea.
Hue tourism also received a series of good news with numerous international awards. Notably, it is expected that at least 3 more sustainable tourism awards for Hue will be honored by the ASEAN community at the ASEAN Tourism Forum 2024, taking place from January 22 to January 27, 2024, in Vientiane, Laos.
International tourists impressed and captured images upon arriving at Phu Bai International Airport
In 2024, the tourism industry of Thua Thien Hue province strives to welcome around 3.5 - 4 million visitors, with domestic tourists accounting for about 60-70%, and total tourism revenue reaching about VND 7,000 - 8,000 billion. To achieve this target, in 2024 and the following years, aiming for sustainable development to make Hue a centrally-governed municipality, the provincial tourism industry plans to develop various types of tourism with diverse, distinctive, and high-class products. These include cultural and heritage tourism, ecological and coastal tourism, resort tourism combined with health care and medical examination and treatment, spiritual tourism, culinary tourism associated with agricultural activities and OCOP products, conferences, and seminars tourism, with cultural and heritage tourism as the main focus. In addition, it strives to continue to develop smart tourism based on the digital, green, and sustainable transformation platform. Finally, the province will strengthen the communication and promotion of tourism products associated with the Festival City brand, Culinary Capital, Capital of Ao Dai.
Standing Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Thanh Binh emphasized that 2024 is an important year for the province, a year to achieve outstanding results to make Thua Thien Hue a centrally-governed municipality, in which the role of the tourism service is crucial. The province will focus on developing Hue as a cultural tourism center of the country, the spearhead economic sector of the province. In the coming time, the province will implement many solutions, including continuing to build complete tourism products, creating new products suitable for the needs of tourists, attracting many domestic and international tourists; building and upgrading sustainable tourism infrastructure; enhancing the professional capacity of the tourism service workforce...