The tourism sector of the central province of Thua Thien Hue is expected to thrive next year as it hosts the National Tourism Year event themed “ Heritage Tourism” and the popular biannual Hue Festival. These activities will create new opportunities for Hue to promote its tangible and intangible cultural values and natural heritages. 

The Director of Thua Thien Hue’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism Phan Tien Dung says the province is already preparing for the National Tourism Year 2012 event. It plans to promote this event at international tourism fairs in Japan and Thailand as well as at home. The province has upgraded its infrastructure and diversified its tourist products in preparation. "Thua Thien Hue has been beautifying the city and upgrading Phu Bai international airport to ensure the safety and reliability of domestic and international flights. The Chan May sea port, which can receive 30,000 ton ships has also been upgraded. This month alone, the port received 25 transiting ships each carrying between 1,500 and 2,300 passengers", Mr. Dung said.

The province has invested a great deal in improving local hotels. Mr. Dung says the prices of hotel rooms will remain unchanged during the tourism planned for 2012. "Hue has more than 200 hotels with more than 8,000 rooms and 140 guest houses with 3,000 rooms. With such a large number of accommodations, Hue is ready to welcome visitors to these major events", Mr. Dung added.

Mr. Dung says in the next ten years, Thua Thien Hue will focus on developing tours from Hanoi, Can Tho and HCM City to Hue. The province will also promote its unique tourism products which include tours of natural and cultural heritages, like relics of the Nguyen dynasty, craft villages, and remnants of a rich architectural history. The National Tourism Year event will be jointly held with the Hue Festival. "Hue Festival 2012 will see impressive performances by 30 art troupes from Vietnam and other countries. The festival has now become a venue for the cultures of several countries", according to Mr. Nguyen DUy Hien, Director of the Hue Festival Center..

Since 2000, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been involved in the organization of the Hue Festival. It has mobilized Vietnamese representative offices overseas to promote the image of Vietnam’s former imperial city to international friends. "Next year, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs plans to introduce the Hue festival at the East Asian and Latin American cultural exchanges. Countries in these regions fully support this plan and want to participate in the Hue festival. The festival has become a locus of cultural exchanges among several countries", a Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs said.

Lan Anh