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| Tourists experiencing contemplating Hue in the rain by cyclos |
To provide tourists with interesting experiences
Observing many tourists coming to Hue on a rainy day in October, it’s easy to realize their genuine joy after their experiences at various destinations. By a hot cup of tea, Ms. Nguyen Tran Tinh My (tourist from Ho Chi Minh City) shared: “Unlike the harsh winter in the North, Hue is damp but uniquely “charming” when the winter comes to the city. Enjoying tea or experiencing numerous activities in indoor tours, I have found a distinct charm of winter tourism in Hue”.
The statistics released by the Provincial Statistics Office indicate that although the number of visitors recorded in October 2023 is estimated to be 208,383 arrivals, accounting for 95.63% compared to the previous month, the results are promising when compared to the previous year (an estimated of 122.56% compared to the same period of 2022). The Tourism Department also informed that it is noteworthy that the number of international tourists recorded in October is estimated at 77,199 arrivals, accounting for 113.42% compared to the previous month and 259.3% compared to the last year.
The last months of the year are generally considered the low season for domestic tourists. However, this year, some localities, including Thua Thien Hue, have opted to organize tourism events amid the low season. If Hanoi has just carried out the trial operation of the “Essence of ancient Sino-education” night tour at the Van Mieu – Quoc Tu Giam, or opened the night tour in the Old Town featuring the lighting art space title “Hanoi Night – Touchpoint of Emotions”, in Hue Ancient Capital, numerous events are scheduled for the year-end period, including activities within the Winter Festival – Hue Festival 2023.
Under the plan, there will be many activities in the framework of the winter festival, notably is the Healthcare Tourism Week; the artistic program “Winter Stories of Hue”, and International Music Festival, etc.
Mr. Nguyen Van Phuc, Director of the Tourism Department said that the chain of tourism activities related to healthcare was scheduled to be held in November. The event covered many programs such as famtrip, workshops, and seminars. Travel agencies were also making efforts to explore tours taking tourists to India and from India to Hue. Besides that, based on customer demand survey, travel agencies have designed and they have been operating indoor tours, such as visiting museums, exhibitions, experiencing the very first digital art of Vietnam in SongLab. Furthermore, enjoying tea, contemplating the rain in Hue by cyclos or dragon boats were also considered interesting activities.
Testing new ideas, new products
According to the representatives of travel agencies, in the last months of the year, when the rainy season comes, the number of visitors coming to Hue tends to decrease. During this period, Hue can introduce attractive and novel products to attract more tourists. This is the ideal time to experiment new tourism ideas and products that have not been implemented before. Through this experimentation, adjustments can be made based on feedbacks, and plans can be developed for future implementation.
Cuisine is the strength of Hue. To make strong impression, instead of organizing culinary experiences in restaurants, now, tourists are able to enjoy street food. Street food in the Winter is widely appreciated if it is applied to Hue. Under the cold weather, the drifting smoke and the spicy flavor of Hue cuisine will surely captivate many tourists.
Deploying synchronized solutions and demand-stimulating programs in tourism will generate unique, novel values, at the same time enhancing experiences, attracting more tourists, and providing motivation to promote the stable and sustainable development of local service industry. The year-end months also mark a crucial period for tourism and service businesses to launch attractive, unique sets of products with affordable prices, thereby improving the quality of services and professionalism. In collaboration with localities, the businesses should also establish partnerships, offer discounts to boost demand and attract tourists, continuously innovate operational methods, and particularly say no to price hikes or overcharging during weekends and holidays.
In the new context, there is a significant need for organizational collaboration to achieve high efficiency, and this aligns with the trend of combining tourism with the search for spiritual and health-related balanced values that Vietnamese tourism have been seeking since the post COVID-19 pandemic. With Thua Thien Hue, there are ample conditions for healthcare tourism and healing tourism to do well.
According to Mr. Nguyen Van Phuc, Director of Tourism Department, tourism businesses are making effort to research and develop more tourism products to serve tourists, especially focusing on how to provide enriching experiences for those coming to Hue in the winter season. Besides that, the tourism sector of the province also needs to push up partnerships with localities in the region, especially Da Nang and Quang Nam to create unique and attractive tourism products to serve tourists. Recently, the tourism sectors of the three localities have organized various promotional events to showcase and promote their tourism products in Malaysia and Singapore with the hope that tourists from Malaysia, Singapore, and ASEAN region, as well as those from other transit markets will grow again.