THỪA THIÊN-HUẾ — The People’s Committee of the central city of Huế on January 1 announced the organisation of the Visit Việt Nam Year 2025 and the Huế Festival 2025.

Themed “Huế - Ancient Capital, New Opportunity,” the Visit Việt Nam Year programme aims to strengthen linkages and drive tourism development between Huế and other cities and provinces nationwide, while also enhancing the image, position, and brand of Vietnamese tourism in general and that of the central city in particular.

Additionally, it is expected to serve as a significant catalyst for Huế's socio-economic revitalisation, creating favourable conditions to attract resources for investment and development, and to build new, appealing local tourism products in the coming time.

Within the framework of the Visit Việt Nam Year - Huế 2025 and the Huế Festival 2025, there will be four main groups of activities in spring, summer, autumn and winter, featuring over 170 national and provincial events.

There will be four highlights during the year, which are the opening ceremony of the “Visit Việt Nam Year - Huế 2025” combined with a fireworks display to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the liberation of Thừa Thiên - Huế on the evening of March 25, 2025; an international conference on cultural industries as a foundation for sustainable tourism on March 25, 2025; a culture - tourism festival and a programme to introduce Vietnamese tourism, cuisine, and craft villages, connecting businesses in the European market in June 2025; and the closing ceremony of the “Visit Việt Nam Year - Huế 2025” at the end of December 2025. 

Other notable events include promoting the “Visit Việt Nam Year - Huế 2025” at the international exhibition EXPO 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan from April 25 to May 6, 2025; a series of communication and tourism promotion activities domestically and internationally; an international culinary festival; a cooking competition; and an international conference on Net Zero tourism planned for July - August 2025.

With such activities and events, Thừa Thiên - Huế expects to attract about 4.8 - 5 million visitors, with international tourists accounting for approximately 38 - 40 per cent of the total visitors, and total tourism revenue reaching around VNĐ10.8 trillion - 11.2 trillion (US$423.57 million – 439.26 million).

As the capital of the Nguyễn Dynasty (1802-1945), Huế is a land rich in national and global heritage values. It boasts eight UNESCO-recognised world heritages, 89 national relic sites, and three special national relic sites. Huế is also home to hundreds of folk and royal festivals, a diverse and unique culinary culture, and breathtakingly beautiful and majestic natural landscapes.

Huế officially becomes a centrally-run city on January 1, 2025. — VNA/OVN