Attending the opening ceremony were Mr. Tran Cam Tu - Politburo member, Standing member of the Secretariat; Mr. Mai Van Chinh - Deputy Prime Minister; Mr. Vu Hong Thanh - Vice Chairman of the National Assembly; Mr. Nguyen Van Hung - Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism; Head of the National Tourism Year Steering Committee; along with many leaders of ministries, branches, localities and a large number of people and tourists.
In his opening speech, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Van Hung said that the National Tourism Year 2025 will take place with many exciting activities in Hue City and across the country, aiming to organize unique and diverse cultural and tourism events, in order to convert cultural assets into tourism development resources.
According to Minister Nguyen Van Hung, in the first 2 months of 2025, Vietnam welcomed nearly 4 million international visitors, an increase of 30% over the same period in 2024, serving about 30 million domestic visitors, with tourism revenue estimated at 160 trillion VND. Vietnam's tourism has recovered spectacularly after the pandemic, becoming the fourth largest destination in the ASEAN region in terms of visitors and tourism revenue.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Deputy Prime Minister Mai Van Chinh emphasized that the National Tourism Year is a national and international cultural - economic - social event, contributing to introducing and promoting the cultural values, resources and unique tourism products of Vietnam.
The Deputy Prime Minister suggested that the tourism industry focus on implementing the Prime Minister's direction in Directive No. 08 on sustainable tourism development with the motto "Excellent products - Professional services - convenient procedures - Fitting prices - Clean environment - Safe destinations".
The Deputy Prime Minister also emphasized that the National Tourism Year - Hue 2025 is not only a simple cultural event, but also an opportunity to affirm Hue as a bright spot of the future, a unique cultural tourism center of the country. With the attention of the Party, the State and the determination of Party committees at all levels, authorities and the community, Hue tourism will become a " Leading Cultural Heritage Destination of Vietnam and the region".
Immediately after the opening ceremony, people and tourists enjoyed an art program with the theme "Rich Confessions" including 3 chapters: "History of a River", "Converged Rivers", "New Flow of Rivers".
The program brings together more than 800 actors, artists, and singers, bringing diverse performances from Ca Hue heritage, traditional royal art, Hue cuisine to modern performances such as lighting with drone light aircraft, water electronic drums, panorama water music, flying dragons, parachuting and high-altitude fireworks.
Unique and novel performances have made a strong impression, attracting the attention of many people and tourists, leaving a deep impression of a traditional yet modern Hue, affirming its position as a cultural tourism center of Vietnam.
According to Director of Hue City Department of Tourism Tran Thi Hoai Tram, the National Tourism Year 2025 is expected to help the city welcome 5.25 - 5.5 million visitors and stays; of which, domestic visitors account for about 70 - 80%. Revenue is estimated at 11,00 - 12,000 billion VND. Thereby, the locality hopes to regain growth momentum, striving to welcome about 12 million visitors by 2030. Not only are they ready for the upcoming opening ceremony, to be ready to welcome a large number of tourists to Hue throughout the year, currently, accommodation facilities in the area have been preparing detailed plans, from supplying, reserving raw materials, adding services, and renovating facilities to create the best conditions for tourists when coming to Hue.
