Tourism in the capital city is undergoing a robust recovery after being heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic for over two years. In response, the city has proposed measures to develop tourism, notably emphasizing collaboration and creating connections between cultural heritage sites within its territory as well as with other provinces and cities nationwide.
Hanoi Tourism Festival 2023 attracted a large number of participants.
Connecting Destinations
Hanoi’s tourism aims to welcome 22 million visitors in 2023. To achieve this goal, the city is innovating its tourism products, stimulating demand, and enhancing promotional activities. Among the strategies for tourism development, a notable focus is on collaboration and connection between destinations, particularly with the cultural heritage sites within its territory and other provinces and cities nationwide. Specifically, Hanoi and Bac Giang province have recently introduced a distinctive heritage tour named “In the Footsteps of the Buddha Emperor.”
The “In the Footsteps of the Buddha Emperor” journey commences at the Thang Long Imperial Citadel (Hanoi), where King Tran Nhan Tong was crowned, overseeing the nation from the golden throne. Subsequently, tourists will visit Vinh Nghiem Pagoda, where the venerable monk directly preached and established it as the national center of Buddhism. The pagoda not only boasts beautiful architecture but also preserves a wooden block repository consisting of 34 volumes with 3,050 engraved Buddhist scriptures. This repository has been recognized by UNESCO and included in the World Documentary Heritage list for the Asia-Pacific region. The journey then ascends to the summit of Yen Tu Mountain from the western slope, following the ancient footsteps of the Buddha Emperor.
Heritage exploration and experience tour “In the Footsteps of the Buddha Emperor”
At the end of March, during the Hanoi Tourism Festival 2023 with the theme “Connecting Heritage for Tourism Development,” various localities and participating entities showcased numerous new tours or introduced innovations in constructing products. The “In the Footsteps of the Buddha Emperor” tour serves as an exemplary case. Another notable tour during this period that drew significant attention is the tour of the Thang Long Imperial Citadel – Bat Trang. After exploring the Thang Long Imperial Citadel and delving into ancient artifacts, visitors board a double-decker bus to traverse the famous streets of Hanoi and explore Bat Trang village, the Bat Trang pottery market, and the Essence Center of Vietnamese Crafts. The connection between the Thang Long Imperial Citadel and craft villages has long been proposed by many scholars and is now officially realized.
During this occasion, tourists can also discover the ancient citadel of Co Loa in a new way. The tour “Rediscovering the Ancient Capital of the Vietnamese” departs from the Thang Long Imperial Citadel, taking travelers to Co Loa, once the ancient capital of Vietnam, allowing them to vividly experience the values of the ancient Co Loa Citadel. Particularly notable are the stories of King An Duong Vuong building the “snail-shaped” citadel and the legends of the divine crossbow, Kim Quy, and the love story of My Chau and Trong Thuy. Tourists also get to experience making clay arrows with a model mimicking the arrows excavated in Co Loa.
Building high-quality tourism products
Alongside connecting heritages, businesses are accelerating collaborative efforts to build high-quality, cost-effective tourism products. Throughout the festival, travel companies will introduce nearly 1,000 new tourism product categories with various promotional discounts ranging from 15% to 30%, coupled with enticing complimentary gifts. Airlines are also releasing a substantial number of discounted airfares to facilitate travel to various destinations across the country during the upcoming April 30 holiday.
Within the framework of the Hanoi Tourism Festival 2023, the UNESCO Travel Club recently organized the event “Unesco Travel Fest 2023 – Together Again.” Nearly 1,000 tourism businesses from Hanoi and provinces participated to explore cooperation opportunities and contribute ideas for tourism development. These businesses engaged in a B2B forum – Business Networking and a seminar on “Issues to Overcome and Post-Covid-19 Solutions” (in collaboration with the Hanoi Investment, Trade, and Tourism Promotion Center).
Tourists experience the Thang Long Imperial Citadel.
Truong Quoc Hung, President of the UNESCO Travel Club, stated, “We have chosen this year’s program theme, ‘Together Again,’ to convey the message that travel agencies will unite and share efforts to strongly resume operations after the COVID-19 pandemic. This collaborative effort aims to aid the swift recovery and development of Vietnam’s tourism industry.” The Hanoi Tourism Festival 2023 coincides with the extended holiday period around April 30th and May 1st, marking the longest holiday stretch since the Lunar New Year. This kickoff aligns with the beginning of the summer tourism season in 2023. Consequently, businesses are seizing this opportunity to stimulate tourism demand with a plethora of highly discounted products.
At the recent Vietnam International Travel Mart (VITM) Hanoi 2023, Hanoitourist Corporation (Hanoitourist), in collaboration with the Hanoi Investment, Trade, and Tourism Promotion Center (HPA), introduced and promoted cultural tour products, heritage destinations, and landmarks such as Hanoi’s Old Quarter, the Thang Long Imperial Citadel, the Hoa Lo Prison Relic, as well as unique cultural and artistic performances showcasing local craftsmanship.
The Hanoi Department of Tourism reported that by the end of March 2023, the capital city’s tourism sector had welcomed 5.88 million visitors, doubling the figure from the same period in 2022. Of these, international visitors to Hanoi were estimated at 978.7 thousand. The total revenue from tourism reached nearly VND 21.5 trillion, a 2.6-fold increase compared to the same period last year. This optimistic outcome underscores the success of Hanoi’s tourism sector.
With continuous innovation in products and quality by government agencies, organizations, and businesses, Hanoi’s tourism is well-positioned to achieve its goal of welcoming 22 million tourists in 2023.