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| Traditional boat racing activities are organized alongside events and festivals at Thanh Toan tiled-roof bridge to attract tourists |
Identifying and promoting the strengths of each region
Recently, the City People’s Committee issued Plan No. 188/KH-UBND dated April 2, 2026, on identifying and promoting the tourism strengths of each region. Accordingly, four characteristic experiential regions were defined: Heritage – Huong River – craft villages and Hue garden houses; Coastal – Tam Giang Lagoon – fishing village culture and fishing livelihoods; Mountainous – stream and waterfall ecotourism – ethnic culture; Ecological agriculture – rural villages – OCOP experiential tourism.
Along with zoning, the city also clearly defined the scope and potential associated with development orientations. The wards and communes along the Huong River and near the city center, with advantages in Hue garden houses, traditional craft villages, local cuisine, and convenient infrastructure, such as Kim Long, Thuy Xuan, Phu Xuan, Vy Da, Hoa Chau, My Thuong, Duong No, Thanh Thuy, etc., belong to the heritage - Huong River - craft village -garden house region. This area will prioritize promoting garden house systems, ancient villages, traditional craft villages, and riverside ecological spaces. Tourism products will include Hue garden house experiences, traditional cuisine, small-scale homestays, handicraft workshops, and riverside agricultural tourism.
Communes along the Tam Giang–Cau Hai Lagoon and coastal areas, with distinctive lagoon ecosystems, fishing village culture, and seascapes, including Phong Quang, Thuan An, Phu Vang, Vinh Loc, Phu Vinh, Chan May–Lang Co, Phu Loc, Loc An, Dan Dien, etc., have been identified as the coastal – lagoon - fishing culture region. The city and tourism sector will focus on exploiting the ecological value of lagoons and seas, developing Community-Based Tourism models linked with fishing livelihoods, fishing experiences, seafood cuisine, and fishing village tours. In addition, community-based tourism will be connected with beach resort tourism.
For the mountainous - stream and waterfall ecotourism - indigenous ethnic culture region, zoning covers mountainous and semi-mountainous communes with forests, streams, waterfalls, and unique ethnic cultures, including Nam Dong, Long Quang, Khe Tre, Phu Bai (Duong Hoa), Hung Loc, Binh Dien, Chan May–Lang Co, and A Luoi 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. The city and tourism sector will focus on ecotourism linked to streams, waterfalls, natural forests, and trekking. Efforts will also preserve and promote ethnic minority cultural values while developing local cuisine and products. In addition, existing tourist sites will be upgraded toward sustainability and environmental friendliness, while appropriately scaled community homestay models will also be developed.
Meanwhile, suburban and hilly communes that still maintain characteristic agricultural landscapes, such as Kim Tra, Huong Tra, Quang Dien, Huong An, etc., will belong to the ecological agriculture - rural village - OCOP experience region. Development orientations here include agricultural tourism models such as farmstays, seasonal farming experiences, and educational tourism associated with environmental education and green agriculture. OCOP products will be linked with experiential production, processing, and on-site consumption activities to enhance local product value. In addition, the region will take advantage of its proximity to urban areas to develop short-day and weekend tourism products to meet market demand.
Development based on regional advantages
Regional zoning is not merely about spatial arrangement but about restructuring tourism products around deeper experiences. Each region needs to create its own identity, thereby forming interconnected product chains instead of overlapping competition.
For many years, tourism development in localities has lacked systematic planning, with similar products and weak connections among localities and travel businesses. Once each region has been clearly defined, the requirement is to strengthen connectivity to create valuable tourism routes and clusters.
Mr. Tran Thanh Tu, Director of Tu Tran Trading & Tourism Co., Ltd., stated that with Hue’s tourism potential, detailed planning and the organization of suitable and effective development models for each region are appropriate. In particular, strengths should be maximized and investment prioritized for already well-known tourist destinations as well as highly potential but underdeveloped areas. In addition, target tourist markets suitable for each region’s characteristics should be identified.
Director of the Department of Tourism Tran Thi Hoai Tram said that the Department has been coordinating with local authorities to investigate, survey, and assess tourism resources, technical infrastructure, environmental conditions, and tourism exploitation potential in communes and wards across the city. Based on this, areas with strong potential will be selected for developing ecotourism and Community-Based Tourism models and prioritized for investment during 2026 –2027.
Following these orientations, the tourism sector will focus on developing distinctive tourism products, services, and models for each region; support the creation of product stories, branding, and standardized interpretation content for model destinations; and strengthen cooperation with travel companies to develop thematic and inter-regional tours. In addition, efforts in promotion, training, and human resource development will also be enhanced.