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| Presenting souvenirs to VIP delegates during the Central Vietnam tourism promotion program in Malaysia. Photo: Department of Tourism |
Spreading the image of Hue’s tourism
Building on the success of recent promotional campaigns in Europe, Hue and Da Nang have jointly launched a program to promote tourism in Malaysia and Indonesia from August 24th to 29th, 2025. According to local tourism authorities, the campaign is a valuable opportunity to continue introducing and spreading Hue’s image, culture, people, and attractions as a safe, friendly, and welcoming destination, enhancing Hue’s presence on the global tourism map.
With the message “Central Vietnam: One Destination - Endless Experiences”, the program featured new and distinctive tourism products from Hue and Da Nang, including MICE, wedding tourism, golf, and high-end resorts. The two provinces also put special emphasis on promoting Halal-friendly services, tailored for Muslim tourists.
In both capitals of the two SEA countries (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and Jakarta, Indonesia), the tourism sectors of Central Vietnam prepared a wide variety of content for the program, introducing it to tourism associations, tourism management agencies, travel enterprises, airlines, the press, and social media influencers (KOLs). Highlights included art performances, showing videos introducing tourist attractions, festivals, and tourism services, displays of specialty tourism products by local businesses, and especially a B2B space for enterprises from the two cities to connect and exchange with foreign partners.
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| Leaders of Hue City’s Department of Tourism, Da Nang’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and representatives of Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board answering questions of guests about Hue-Da Nang tourism. Photo: Department of Tourism |
Malaysia and Indonesia are both traditional and promising visitor markets for Hue in particular and Central Vietnam in general. According to Hue City’s Department of Tourism, in 2024, arrivals from Malaysia reached more than 27.700, accounting for 4,5% of total international tourist arrivals and ranking among the top 10 international markets for Hue. Meanwhile, tourists from Indonesia were 2.615, representing 0,4% of total international tourist arrivals and placing Indonesia among Hue’s top 30 source markets.
Since early 2025, destinations in Hue have already welcomed a considerable number of tourists from these two Southeast Asian countries, including 14.929 Malaysians and 1.186 Indonesians in the first six months alone.
According to Director of Hue City’s Department of Tourism Tran Thi Hoai Tram, Central Vietnam, with Hue and Da Nang at its heart, boasts outstanding advantages: a stunning coastline, multiple UNESCO World Cultural Heritage sites, a modern resort system, and diverse tourism products ranging from luxury resorts to cultural and culinary exploration, wellness tourism, golf, and MICE. Furthermore, the two destinations are also key land gateways connecting Vietnam with Laos, Northeast Thailand, and Malaysia, making them well-suited for developing cross-border caravan tourism within Southeast Asia - a new, highly potential, and increasingly popular product. Presenting tourism information from Hue and Da Nang, as well as from Central Vietnam more broadly, is not only an opportunity to promote destinations but also a chance to strengthen tourism branding of each locality basing on their unique features and strengths to attract tourists.
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| Vietnamese gifts bring joy in Malaysia. Photo: Department of Tourism |
At the event in Malaysia, Director Tran Thi Hoai Tram noted: “One important highlight of Hue and Da Nang tourism is our friendliness toward Muslim tourists. Many Halal services and religious facilities have been implemented at airports, attractions, and restaurants in compliance with international standards, and have been highly appreciated by Muslim tourists. This preparation helps Central Vietnam become a preferred destination not only for Malaysian tourists but also for tourists from around the world, especially with the Dubai - Da Nang direct flights operated by Emirates. We hope to strengthen cooperation with Malaysian partners to develop Muslim-friendly tourism products, making Hue and Da Nang an ideal pair of destinations for Malaysian tourists”.
Commercial Counselor of the Vietnamese Embassy in Malaysia Le Phu Cuong also emphasized: “Tourism cooperation between Malaysia and Vietnam is growing steadily. With geographical proximity, convenient air routes, and cultural similarities, Central Vietnam, particularly Hue and Da Nang, has many advantages to become an attractive destination for Malaysian tourists”.
Placing hope on tourist growth
Looking back, thanks to regional linkages and the joint efforts of both destinations, Hue City and Da Nang City have coordinated with each other effectively to attract tourists. Malaysia, in particular, has been identified as one of Central Vietnam’s key international markets. In 2024, the two cities welcomed about 230,000 Malaysian tourists; in just the first seven months of 2025, the figure already exceeded 150,000 - evidence of stable, sustainable, and deepening tourism relations between the two countries.
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| B2B activities between Vietnamese and Malaysian travel and tourism service enterprises during the program. Photo: Department of Tourism |
This success is the result of effective cooperation among government agencies, the business community, and the aviation industry of both countries. Currently, AirAsia, Malaysia Airlines, and Batik Air operate 35 flights per week from Kuala Lumpur to Da Nang. Starting in October 2025, Vietjet Air plans to launch a new route, offering Malaysian tourists even more convenient options. The tourism space of Central Vietnam also continues to expand, with three airports within a 250 km radius, including two international airports in Da Nang and Hue and Chu Lai Airport in southern Da Nang (of formerly Quang Nam Province).
According to Hue’s Department of Tourism, alongside continued destination and tourism products promotion in Malaysia and Indonesia, this campaign also introduces key upcoming activities within the framework of “National Tourism Year - Hue 2025” and Hue Festival 2025 to the public and international travel businesses. In addition, Hue’s distinctive cultural features and signature brands: “Hue - Culinary Capital,” “Hue - Capital of Ao Dai,” and “Hue – A Festival City” are also being strongly highlighted.
Director Tran Thi Hoai Tram added that, accompanying the promotion campaign of the Department of Tourism and Tourism Promotion Information Centers of the two cities, dozens of outstanding tourism enterprises from Central Vietnam also participated in. They directly introduced products, sought cooperation opportunities with foreign partners, and opened up prospects for practical and sustainable business ties between enterprises of both sides. In particular, through the Hue-Da Nang tourism introduction program and B2B networking sessions, many cooperation agreements are expected to be established. This lays an important foundation for attracting more Malaysian and Indonesian tourists to Central Vietnam in the near future.