The program takes place from April 4 to May 13, organized by the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism in coordination with the People's Committee of Hue City, the Tourism Development Support Fund, Vietnam Airlines and partners.
In 2025, Hue was chosen as the host locality for the National Tourism Year with the theme "Hue - Ancient Capital, New Opportunities". This is a cultural, economic, social and tourism event of national and international stature, associated with Hue Festival 2025 and major national celebrations.
In order to promote Vietnamese cultural values, especially Hue, to the key European market, the program was implemented in Milan (Italy) on May 6, 2025, Geneva (Sweden) on May 8, 2025 and Paris (France) on May 12, 2025.
In Milan, the Vietnam - Europe Tourism Promotion event will take place on May 6, 2025 to promote tourism, culture and connect international partners, aiming to attract 22 - 23 million international visitors in 2025. Within the framework of the event, Vietnam Airlines also announced the opening of the Hanoi - Milan direct flight route, contributing to promoting bilateral tourism cooperation between Vietnam and Italy.
The program was attended by a working delegation of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism led by Mr. Nguyen Trung Khanh - Director of the Department; Ms. Hoang Thi Kim Anh - Director of the Tourism Development Support Fund. The Hue City People's Committee delegation was led by Mr. Nguyen Thanh Binh - Permanent Vice Chairman. In addition, there were representatives of the Ministry of Finance, localities such as Hanoi and Da Nang, along with leaders of Vietnam Airlines, domestic tourism, transportation and hotel businesses.
The Tourism Development Support Fund plays a role in developing plans, allocating funding and implementing promotional activities. The Fund has contributed to mobilizing the combined strength of management agencies, enterprises and social organizations to improve domestic and international promotion efficiency.
The activities are carried out in the direction of innovation and creativity, closely following the Prime Minister's Official Dispatch No. 34/CD-TTg dated April 10, 2025, as a foundation for mobilizing social resources to achieve the growth target of the tourism industry.
Within the framework of the National Tourism Year - Hue 2025 program, many outstanding activities are implemented such as: meeting international tourism businesses, performing Hue Royal Music, introducing Royal cuisine, traditional craft villages (Thanh Tien bougainvillea, lotus hat), performing ao dai, opening the Hanoi - Milan direct flight route, along with programs to promote Vietnamese destinations and unique tourism products.
According to statistics, in the first quarter of 2025, Vietnam welcomed more than 6 million international visitors, an increase of 29.6% over the same period in 2024. This is the highest increase ever in a quarter. China and South Korea continue to be the two largest tourist markets, followed by Taiwan (China), the US, Japan, Cambodia, Australia, Malaysia, India and Russia.
Most markets have grown, with China increasing sharply. European markets recorded double-digit growth, especially countries that enjoy unilateral visa exemption policies.
In particular, the number of visitors from Poland and Switzerland has increased significantly thanks to Resolution No. 11/NQ-CP of the Government on short-term visa exemption for Polish, Czech and Swiss citizens, applied from March 1, 2025 to December 31, 2025 under the 2025 Tourism Development stimulus Program.
