Shoppers crowd around a stall selling local specialties from the northern province of Sơn La, February 11. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — The Spring Fair closed on Friday after more than 10 days of trading, performances and crowds that organisers said brought around half a million people through its gates.

Roughly 3,000 booths took part, selling everything from regional specialties to consumer goods, while visiting delegations from India, the Philippines, Belgium, South Korea, Japan, and China attended to scout for business links and partnerships.

Unlike a conventional trade fair, the event leaned heavily on atmosphere. Shopping took place alongside live performances, craft demonstrations, and hands-on activities, blending commerce with culture in a way that organisers hoped would keep visitors lingering.

That strategy appears to have worked. Exhibitors reported daily takings ranging from a few million to several hundred million Vietnamese đồng, according to organisers.

Around three-quarters of participants saw a sharp jump in sales over the final weekend, with particularly strong results from stalls representing Hà Nội, Cà Mau, and Lào Cai.

A cultural performance at the fair, February 10. — VNA/VNS Photo

Cultural programming was central to the fair’s appeal.

Folk performances and displays of intangible cultural heritage were interwoven with simple, tactile experiences such as wrapping bánh chưng – the traditional sticky-rice cake eaten during Lunar New Year – or shaping colourful tò he figurines.

Together, they created a busy, festive mood that felt closer to a holiday gathering than a retail event.

The result was that visitors stayed longer and engaged more deeply. Products were not presented simply as items to be bought, but as expressions of local identity, each with its own story attached – an approach that organisers said helped build trust in Vietnamese-made goods.

“People didn’t come just to buy things. They came to feel the atmosphere,” said Vũ Bá Phú, Director of the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency at the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

Phú said the fair also helped bring producers, distributors, and consumers into closer contact, giving businesses a chance to expand retail connections and read the market directly.

Vũ Bá Phú, Director of the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency at the Ministry of Industry and Trade. — Photo courtesy of the organisers

Blending culture with commerce, he added, created moments that nudged people from browsing into buying.

Looking beyond this year’s event, Phú said trade fairs should not be treated as one-off sales drives, but as part of a broader national strategy to encourage spending and steady the domestic market.

At the most basic level, he said, a successful fair is one where shoppers can find good-quality products, clearly sourced at prices that feel fair. — VNS