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| Mr. Nguyen Khac Toan, Chairman of Hue City People’s Committee, delivered remarks at the conference |
Affirming its own direction on the foundation of heritage and culture
Speaking at the conference, Mr. Nguyen Khac Toan, Chairman of Hue City People’s Committee, emphasized that from a city suffered heavy losses after the war, with the unity of the entire political system and the People, Hue has gradually recovered and developed, and today has become the country's 6th centrally-governed municipality.
According to Mr. Nguyen Khac Toan, the achievements are comprehensive and visible across many sectors: stable economic growth; continuously improved material and spiritual lives of the People; a sharp decline in the poverty rate; and maintained political security and social order. Notably, Hue has affirmed its own direction: development in harmony with heritage preservation and socio-economic development.
“We can proudly say that the unique cultural value of the Ancient Capital has not only been preserved, but also been effectively leveraged, becoming an important internal resource for development. Hue is gradually positioning itself clearly as a unique cultural and tourism center of the country, moving toward an exemplary heritage city model of Vietnam and the region,” affirmed Mr. Nguyen Khac Toan.
According to experts, over the past 40 years, the renewal process has brought about historically meaningful achievements, contributing to enhancing Vietnam’s position and prestige on the international stage. For Hue, important transformations have been made in promoting its potential and advantages, especially its cultural heritage value.
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| Hue has become an attractive and fascinating destination for many domestic and international visitors |
Besides these achievements, reality also presents many issues that require further comprehensive and scientific research and evaluation, from growth models and heritage preservation associated with development to the demand of building a unique heritage city in the new context.
Emphasizing Hue’s tourism advantages, Nguyen Quang Trung Tien, a researcher, stated that alongside the country’s development over 40 years of renewal, Hue has truly transformed into a “heritage capital”, a unique cultural and tourism center of Vietnam, the region, and the world. This has affirmed tourism as a spearhead economic sector with important contributions to the sustainable development of centrally-governed Hue City. Notably, the city has witnessed breakthrough growth in visitor numbers and tourism revenue, making significant contributions to the locality's GRDP. In addition, Hue is also recognized as one of the world’s leading heritage destinations alongside internationally renowned brand names.
Seeking solutions to remove “bottlenecks”
From Mr. Tien’s perspective, Hue’s tourism sector still faces longstanding inherent limitations that cannot yet be resolved, significantly affecting the heritage city’s ability to reach greater heights both now and in the future.
“To this day, Hue remains primarily a short-term cultural and heritage sightseeing stop for many domestic and international visitors. Air transport infrastructure has yet to connect with many domestic and international destinations; tourism products and activities capable of encouraging overnight or long-term stays remain limited and lack depth; tourism development has not matched the city’s inherent potential and strengths; and tourism revenue is still much lower than that of many other localities,” noted Mr. Tien.
Facing these “bottlenecks”, the expert suggested that obstacles regarding policy and procedure need to be removed in order to attract investment in large-scale and sustainable tourism projects. At the same time, investment should be focused in transport infrastructure, especially connections to coastal and lagoon tourism areas, as well as the expansion of additional domestic and international flight routes. Furthermore, it is necessary to remove the “bottlenecks” in tourism products and the night-time economy, which the expert described metaphorically as a “night-time void”.
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| The conference attracted the participation of a large number of delegates |
“Only when these ‘bottlenecks’ are removed through synchronized and effective solutions will Hue tourism be able to attract large numbers of domestic and international visitors. Only then can the city achieve breakthrough growth in tourism revenue and stand alongside other major tourism centers in the country and abroad,” said Mr. Tien.
Discussing Hue’s cultural heritage in the context of sustainable development, Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Van Manh (Faculty of History, University of Sciences, Hue University) stated that during the 40 years of the renewal process, Vietnam has placed special emphasis on sustainable social development by focusing on four key aspects: economic sustainability, socio-political sustainability, environmental sustainability, and cultural sustainability. Among these, cultural sustainability serves as the foundation of society. That foundation is not only a driving force that unlocks human potential, but also a regulatory mechanism and the ultimate goal of social development.
Hue is a locality where diverse cultural exchanges and convergences have taken place throughout the nation’s history. As a result, the land possesses a rich treasure of unique cultural heritage, which has been effectively preserved and promoted. However, the question of how to integrate Hue’s cultural heritage into everyday life in order to contribute to sustainable social development remains far from simple.
According to Mr. Manh, Hue’s cultural heritage is considered a goal, a foundation, an internal strength, and a driving force for the development of the country. To bring that goal and internal strength into life, it is necessary to rely on a spatial structure of three “constants”: preserving and promoting Hue’s cultural heritage in families; preserving and promoting Hue’s cultural heritage in schools; and preserving and promoting Hue’s cultural heritage in the broader social environment.