Blogger Eric Thomas Stoen (sitting in the middle) talked to the tourism sector leaders about Hue image promotion
Attracting American tourists
Eric Thomas Stoen is currently the travel ambassador for Travelocity (an American online travel company, Expedia Group-owned website), a member of the American Family Travel Association and a Forbes Magazine’s blogger. He is known to be the most famous blogger in the United States and ranked 4th in the world readership.
This is the second time after 10 years he has had the opportunity to arrive in Hue. Through the trip for sightseeing, experiencing the tourist attractions, craft villages, Hue cuisine and so on, Eric Thomas Stoen said Hue is beautiful and full of the historical evidences; the cultural colors of the feudal dynasty have left imprint. The traditional culture, cuisine and local new experience products really impress him.
This well-known blogger is confident that Hue will be a not-to-be-missed destination when tourists come to Vietnam, for Hue is the destination with many unique and attractive values.
Particularly for the American tourist market, blogger Eric Thomas Stoen said that Hue's culture, heritage, rich and unique cuisine will appeal to American tourists. The taste of American tourists is oriented toward the product line which is Hue’s strength. Therefore, in 2020, the blogger will connect, invite some big travel magazines in the US to Hue to survey and connect.
Tourists posed for a souvenir photo ahead of Lau Ngu Phung (Five-Phoenix Pavilion), Dai
Mr. Truong Thanh Minh, Director of Tourism Promotion Information Center, said that with Eric Thomas Stoen’s experiences during his time in Hue, with his pen, his reputation, Hue tourism sector desires him to convey information about images, culture and people of Hue to readers in the world
Mr. Minh acknowledged that with Hue's available resources, promoting the image to the US market is identified as a hard nut. Therefore, it is absolutely necessary to invite the figures who have a great influence on tourists in America and the world like Eric Thomas Stoen. After this survey, in the following years, Hue will be proactive in cooperation.
Incorporating Hue into the Google Arts & Culture app
In June 2019, Google Vietnam collaborated with a number of central provinces, Hue included, in conducting a survey to take photos, video, receive accurate information at some destinations, and writing the articles on typical popular routes and destinations.
In Hue, the delegation visited and saved the documents at the Imperial Citadel, Hue Museum of Royal Antiquities, Khai Dinh Mausoleum, Phuoc Tich Ancient Village, Tam Giang Lagoon, Thuan An Sea, and the scenery of the Huong (Perfume) River, Bach Ma National Park, Lang Co Bay. Also, the delegation viewed Nha Nhac (Vietnamese Court Music) performance, experienced the creation of some traditional craft products and enjoyed some Hue dishes.
Heritage and culture are the tourist products appealing to American tourists
According to Mr. Nguyen Van Phuc, Deputy Director of Department of Tourism and Information, the coordination above is aimed at introducing Hue image to a new Google tourism application, namely Google Arts & Culture. This application allows users to use technology as a new way to immerse themselves into the space of Hue's artistic, historical and cultural experience without the geospatial or temporal barriers.
Google Art & Culture will give the specific introduction of the beautiful landscapes, typical cultural works with 1,000 photos of Central Vietnam in general and Hue in particular. This cooperation and promotion aims to introduce Hue's tourism, culture and history into the Google Art & Culture online art culture library and discover the beauty of Vietnam Tourism and Culture (Google Adventure Vietnam) as much and accurately as possible.
According to Mr. Nguyen Van Phuc, with the high technology of promotion and global reputation of Google, this cooperation will be a great opportunity for Hue tourism sector to effectively promote its image of destination and tourism products, contributing to attracting international tourists to the Central region where Hue is an important destination.
The Department of Tourism said that previously, in mid-April 2019, the image of Tu Duc Mausoleum was posted online by Google Arts & Culture to introduce experimentally to the whole world. This is the first legacy of Vietnam to be included in the collection of global famous heritages by Google Arts & Culture. Although experimental, initially the legacy earned praise for its originality from the international community.
With the digital technology growth, especially when Hue is boosting smart tourism development, the information shared on the prestigious tourism applications, websites, the prestigious figures’ sharing and feeling on social networks ... are a highly effective advertising channel. Especially when the resources remain quite limited, and the socialization work is being focused on, the maximum use of promotion channels needs further stepping up.
Story and photos: DUC QUANG