A performance at the opening of Hanoi Tourism Ao Dai Festival. (Duc Anh/VOV5)

Hanoi Tourism Ao Dai Festival 2022 promotes tourism in Hanoi and Vietnam after two years of COVID-19.

The 3-day event featured an Ao Dai Music Festival and a Creative Ao Dai Design contest for students. The Ao Dai Music Festival introduced ao dai collections from Hanoi, Hue, and Ho Chi Minh representing the styles of the northern, central, and southern regions. The audience was also interested in ao dai collections of tourism businesses, airlines, and hotels.

The ao dai, which is seen as a “Cultural Ambassador”, has become a “Tourism Ambassador” and a typical cultural product of Hanoi.

Dang Huong Giang, Director of Hanoi Department of Culture, said: “Ao dai is the traditional costume of Vietnam which embraces the quintessence of national culture. We promote the values of the ao dai in tourism development and make it more popular worldwide. The Ao Dai Festival aims to attract more visitors to Hanoi and Vietnam.”

The Hanoi Tourism Ao Dai Festival promotes ao dia styles of the north, south, and central region. (photo: Duc Anh/VOV5)

During the Festival there were 50 stalls displaying ao dai on Dinh Tien Hoang street by Hoan Kiem Lake. A highlight of the Festival was a performance of 700 women wearing ao dai and dancing with conical hats and fans.

The Festival was a venue for tourism businesses to market their products and seek opportunities with ao dai artisans and designers from all over Vietnam.

Emeritus Artisan, fashion designer Le Thi Lan Huong said that the innovative ideas of the Ha Noi Tourism Ao Dai Festival were the driving force for her to join the Festival.

“Organizing the Festival is an ideal to promote Vietnamese costumes, particularly the ao dai, to the world and help Vietnamese designers develop their talent. It’s our goals and strategy. The Festival draws a lot of fashionistas and I hope it dai will be promoted on foreign media,” said Huong.

The Hanoi Tourism Ao Dai Festival 2022 was a cultural and tourism event that attracted the attention of a large number of Hanoians, domestic and foreign tourists, and linked fashion with tourism. It featured the culture of Hanoi and Vietnam in general through the traditional ao dai.

A street parade of Ao dai (photo: Duc Anh/VOV5)

Nguyen Hong Minh, Deputy Director of Hanoi’s Department of Tourism, said: “Hanoi wants to promote its tourism in particular and Vietnam in general. Tourism’s recovery and more visitors coming will create pulse for other sectors to develop. The preservation and promotion of ao dai’s values have been combined with tourism development. The Festival responds to the spirit of the National Cultural Conference chaired by Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong last year.”

As a major tourist center of the country, Hanoi makes an important contribution to the recovery and development of the industry. The 2022 Hanoi Tourism Ao Dai Festival was a hallmark of Hanoi's tourism after the COVID-19 epidemic, which promoted the cultural identity of Vietnam's ao dai.