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| International visitors come to visit Hue Imperial Citadel during the holiday of April 30th - May 1st |
Despite the scorching heat, Hue continues to attract visitors
Despite the scorching heat, tourist spots in Hue over the past few days still attracted a large number of locals and tourists to visit and experience. Besides organized tours, most visitors to Hue are independent travelers, family groups; some enterprises and schools also organizing trips for their staff, workers, and students to visit Hue.
Mr. Ha Nhat Thanh from Quang Ngai shared: “The April 30th - May 1st holiday is the longest in the year and is most suitable time for traveling. My family chose Hue as our destination. Although the hot sun affected our trip, once we were in Hue, we couldn’t miss visiting the Imperial Citadel, historical sites, and tourist attractions here. Despite the heat, my family still enjoyed our experience in Hue.”
During the April 30th - May 1st holiday, the weather reached over 40 degrees Celsius on some days, so many tourist destinations such as waterfalls, beaches, lagoons, and river tourism were popular among visitors. Mr. Hoang Thanh Duy, Director of the A Nor Community Ecotourism Cooperative (A Luoi district), said that during the 5-day holiday, each day, A Nor waterfall attracted about 600 – 800 visitors to swim, experience tourism products and services, and enjoy highland cuisine.
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| Tourists come to experience and stay in A Luoi during the holiday |
According to Ms. Le Thi Them, Head of the Culture and Information Department of A Luoi district, due to the sunny weather, visitors prefer to go to eco-tourism destinations, community tourism, waterfalls, and lagoons in A Luoi, especially in A Roang, A Nor (Hong Kim commune), Par Le (Hong Ha commune), Hachi (Hong Thuong commune), or new tourist spots in A Luoi town. Thanks to well-planned and proactive measures to welcome visitors, the reception and service for visitors during the holidays went very well.
At lagoon tourist destinations, summer tourism activities attracted visitors for relaxation. Mr. Nguyen Van An, Manager of Con Toc restaurant (Quang Dien district), shared that although the scorching sun did not significantly increase the number of visitors compared to last year, the restaurant still attracted many visitors near and far for entertainment and dining.
Due to the sunny weather, visitors preferred to visit and experience activities in the morning and late afternoon, especially from around 4 p.m. Besides tourist spots associated with lakes, rivers, streams, beaches, and lagoons, many tourist destinations such as Thuy Xuan incense village, Thien Mu Pagoda... attracted a large number of visitors for sightseeing and checking-in. Many tourists planned a reasonable itinerary to fully experience their long holiday in Hue while avoiding the intense heat.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoai Anh, a tourist from Ha Tinh province, shared: “In the morning, we visited historical sites, Thuy Xuan incense village, in the afternoon we visited pagodas or went to the beach, lagoon, and in the evening, we went to the city for nightlife, visited Lim wooden bridge, and went to the food area of the culinary week. With a well-calculated plan, in 3 days in Hue, we experienced a lot.”
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| Student groups organized by schools visit historical sites and Thanh Toan tile-roofed bridge during the holiday of April 30th - May 1 |
To attract visitors during the holiday, events and festivals of various scales and themes were organized, attracting many tourists and local people, including the Traditional Hue Cuisine Week (from April 27th to May 1st, with about 100,000 visitors), the ‘Thuan An Call of the Sea’ program (April 29th, with about 8,000 participants); from April 26th to May 1st, the Thanh Toan tile-roofed bridge night market, A Luoi and Nam Dong highland markets also attracted thousands of visitors...
According to the Department of Tourism, during the 5-day holiday, Thua Thien Hue welcomed about 110,000 tourists. The total number of booked accommodations reached 58,000 (including about 43,000 domestic tourists and 15,000 international tourists), with estimated total revenue of 170 billion VND, and the average room occupancy rate of tourist accommodation establishments reached 85%.
Most hotels, including 4 - 5-star hotel groups and homestays, were fully booked during the peak days from April 27th to April 30th. Resort and experiential tourism destinations associated with nature (hills, streams, waterfalls, beaches, and lagoons) were also fully booked. The number of visitors to historical sites from April 27th to April 30th was 58,385 (43,510 domestic tourists and 14,875 international tourists). Compared to the same period of the April 30th - May 1st holiday in 2023, this year's number of visitors increased by 15.8%, and tourism revenue increased by 9.7%.
Visitors satisfied with their experiences in Hue
During this holiday, tourism in the Ancient Capital launched stimulus programs and promoted tourism to visitors. The provincial tourism industry and the business community implemented many summer tourism stimulus packages for 2024, such as room discounts, tour prices, prices for buying local specialties and souvenirs... This created additional attraction for tourists.
Ms. Duong Thi Cong Ly, Vice President of the Provincial Travel Association, shared that some new tourism programs and products were also put into trial operation during this period, including city tours by public transportation (double-decker buses, bicycles, boat trips) and experiences of street food, craft villages... These tourism products aimed to reduce emissions from transportation, alleviate traffic congestion associated with learning about the life and culture of urban residents, and they were highly favored and chosen by many international tourists and young tourist groups.
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| Enjoying the sunset while paddling and exploring Tam Giang lagoon |
According to assessments from tourists, except for the hot weather as the biggest downside, the long holiday in Hue was very enjoyable. Ms. Nguyen Thi My Nhien, a tourist from Binh Phuoc province, said: “The cost of traveling in Hue is quite cheap. Hue cuisine is delicious, and there are many tourist destinations and types of tourism to experience. The people in Hue are enthusiastic and hospitable, so it feels comfortable to travel here.”
Meanwhile, according to Mr. Galina, a tourist from Germany, Hue is a destination with a vast heritage system. The citadels, palaces, moss-covered walls evoke nostalgia for ancient times. “Along with that are the Huong River, Thien Mu Pagoda, Dong Ba Market, or the brackish Ru Cha forest... the unmissable destinations for tourists when visiting the Ancient Capital. I came to Hue this season, and I find Hue very wonderful. From the landscape to the hospitable people. Experiencing tourism in Hue is very interesting,” he shared.
According to the Department of Tourism's assessment, overall, the activities, festival programs of localities were well-planned and organized to ensure stability, safety, and quality. Tourist accommodation establishments, dining facilities, shopping centers serving tourists ensured basic security, fire safety, food hygiene, and sold goods at the listed prices, without any complaints from tourists.