2026 is considered an important milestone for Gia Lai when the province hosts the 2026 National Tourism Year with the theme "Gia Lai - The Great Forest Touches the Blue Sea", along with a series of 244 cultural, sports and tourism events taking place throughout the year.
Through these activities, Gia Lai aims to welcome about 15 million visitors, with tourism revenue expected to reach about 35,000 billion VND.
In its development strategy, Gia Lai is shaping a new growth structure based on the sea - plateau tourism corridor, connecting the tourism space between Quy Nhon and Pleiku, harmoniously combining natural resources, indigenous culture and transport infrastructure.
The conference includes 3 main discussion sessions, focusing on important pillars in the Gia Lai tourism development strategy for the period 2026 - 2035.
The first discussion session with the theme "Aircraft activate the green economy" focused on analyzing the role of aviation infrastructure in expanding the tourism market and attracting investment into new destinations.
Accordingly, Phu Cat airport - the gateway connecting the South Central Coast region - is being upgraded, aiming for a capacity of about 5 million passengers/year by 2030 and 7 million passengers/year by 2050, gradually becoming an international airport.
Pleiku Airport is also proposed to be upgraded with a total capital of about 12,600 billion VND, aiming for a capacity of 4 million passengers/year by 2030 and 5 million passengers/year by 2050, creating an important foundation for the development of tourism in the Central Highlands region.
From this advantage, the speakers will discuss the development model of 2 airports as a sea-to-plateau connectivity system, and consider the potential to exploit charter flights as a solution to pave the way for the international passenger market.
The second discussion session with the theme "Unlocking the eagles - Real estate infrastructure unlocks potential in a new growth cycle" focused on the role of strategic investors in shaping a complete tourism ecosystem, including resorts, golf, MICE, services and aviation.
At this session, experts and businesses will share experiences in developing tourism ecosystem models in the Central region, and analyze the potential for developing new tourism products in Pleiku.
The third discussion session with the theme "One wings fly, two destinations - Sea tourism paradise connected to the mysterious plateau, creating thousands of values" focused on the new tourism trends of international tourists, especially multi-experience journeys combining sea resorts with exploring nature and indigenous culture.
At this discussion session, speakers will exchange and propose inter-regional tourism product development models, build tourism value chains associated with agriculture, culture and ecology, thereby extending length of stay, increasing spending and enhancing the value of destinations.
Speaking at the conference, Mr. Pham Anh Tuan - Member of the Party Central Committee, Chairman of Gia Lai Provincial People's Committee - said that after the merger, Gia Lai has a rare advantage when converging both the great forest and the blue sea, along with the cultural diversity of many ethnic groups, opening up a rich and unique tourism development space.
According to Mr. Pham Anh Tuan, the province's tourism development strategy is oriented towards maximizing natural advantages, combined with human creativity to form different products and destinations.
Chairman of Gia Lai Provincial People's Committee expressed his expectation that, through 3 discussion sessions, speakers and delegates will feel more clearly the natural advantages of the locality, and at the same time see the determination of the government in building Gia Lai into a different destination.
Mr. Pham Anh Tuan hopes that experts and investors will identify bottlenecks in tourism development, thereby proposing solutions and suggestions for the locality.
After this conference, we hope more people will know about Gia Lai - a destination that converges both forests and seas - and will come to the province more often," said Mr. Pham Anh Tuan.
