Tourists visit the imperial citadel of Huế. The province of Thừa Thiên Huế has made great strides in recent years to diversify its tourism offerings to attract more visitors. VNA/VNS Photo Tường Vi

THỪA THIÊN HUẾ — The Imperial Citadel of Huế in central Thừa Thiên Huế Province, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, will host a variety of cultural and tourist events in April and May, announced the Việt Nam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) under the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism.

Among them is the Huế Traditional Craft Festival from April 28 to May 5, a highlight of the summer festival, which will last from April to June as part of the 2023 Huế Festival.

Sixty-one craft villages and facilities in and outside the province have registered for the 8th craft festival.

Running, cycling, photography, and art performances will all be new additions to this year's handicraft festival.

As part of the activities within the Huế Festival, an international hot balloon festival is taking place from April 10-18, and a lotus festival is slated for May 18-20.

Thừa Thiên Huế served over 2 million visitors last year, up nearly 190 per cent against 2021, and earned more than VNĐ4.5 trillion (US$190 million) from the tourism sector, surpassing the set target by 12.5 per cent.

The province is striving to welcome 3-3.5 million holidaymakers this year, of whom 70-80 per cent are domestic and gross about VNĐ6-7 trillion in revenue.

To that purpose, the province has concentrated on sustainable tourist attractions such as ecotourism, golf tourism, medical tourism, and tourism based on agriculture.

Huế, a former imperial capital city of Việt Nam for hundreds of years, is home to five heritages recognised by UNESCO, including the ancient citadel relic complex (a World Cultural Heritage site), Huế royal court music (an intangible cultural heritage item), the Nguyễn dynasty’s printing wood blocks (a documentary heritage item), the Nguyễn dynasty’s royal administrative documents (part of the Asia-Pacific Register of UNESCO’s Memory of the World Programme), and literature on Huế royal architecture (another documentary heritage). VNS