Alongside aspirations for future UNESCO inscription, Hue Nam Temple Festival (also known as Hon Chen Temple Festival) is increasingly being viewed as a distinctive form of spiritual tourism. Together with safeguarding core values, the festival is seeking to harness the depth of cultural heritage to attract visitors, while avoiding excessive commercialization that could erode the identity.

At Vietnam - Japan Local Cooperation Forum 2026, the thematic session ‘From Heritage Conservation to Cultural Industries: Unlocking Potential and Connecting Opportunities for Local Cooperation’ highlighted how heritage is increasingly being seen as a resource for development when connected with communities, technology, tourism and cultural industries.

For many years, discussions about the cultural industries have tended to focus on products, events, or specific sectors. However, as the global creative economy continues to evolve, one concept has become increasingly emphasized: branding.

The People's Committee of Hue City has issued Plan No. 318/KH-UBND to implement the Action Program for carrying out the Politburo's Resolution No. 80-NQ/TW on the development of Vietnamese culture in the new era. More than a timely move to translate a major central policy into concrete action, the plan marks an important milestone, demonstrating that Hue is choosing the right path for its development in the years ahead.

On June 19th, a working delegation from Tuyen Quang Provincial People's Committee, led by Vice Chairwoman of Tuyen Quang Provincial People's Committee Vuong Ngoc Ha, had a meeting with Hue City People's Committee to exchange experience in heritage management, preservation, and promotion in connection with tourism development and cultural industries.

The visit and working trip of the delegation from Nara Prefecture, Japan, to Hue is expected to create new opportunities for cooperation, further strengthening the friendship between the two localities as well as between Vietnam and Japan.

Such is one of the key tasks set by the Department of Culture and Sports of Hue City for 2026.

Viet Nam is entering an entirely new stage of development for its cultural industries - where culture is recognized as a strategic asset, an endogenous resource, a driver of creativity, and a pillar of the national growth model.