THỪA THIÊN-HUẾ — Huế will host both the National Tourism Year and the Huế Festival in 2025, and has already planned 62 major programmes and events for the occasion.

The closing ceremony of Huế Festival 2024, which attracted 100,000 visitors to Huế. — VNA/VNS Photo Minh Quyết

Huế National Tourism Year 2025 is a culturally significant event associated with the 50th anniversary of Thừa Thiên-Huế Province's liberation and Huế's becoming a municipality.

Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Hồ An Phong highlighted that Thừa Thiên-Huế Province has a long history of tourism and is a major tourist destination in Việt Nam, with strengths in both cultural and heritage tourism.

"Therefore, choosing Thừa Thiên-Huế to host the National Tourism Year in 2025 makes perfect sense," he said.

"Huế should elevate the event further to raise its profile for tourists. Besides promoting itself as a destination, it also needs to develop festival tourism by designing festival tours that enhance visitors' experiences, cater to their requirements and wants, and ultimately increase the number of visitors to Huế."

The opening ceremony of both programmes will feature fireworks art to celebrate the 50th Liberation Day of Thừa Thiên-Huế Province, scheduled to take place at the end of March 2025.

Permanent Deputy Chairman of the province's People's Committee Nguyễn Thanh Bình said: "We hope the National Tourism Year 2025 in Huế will promote tourism in the entire central region, which requires a close connection between localities."

"We hope that the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism would facilitate the growth of tourism within the central region and establish connections with both the North and the South." 

Huế, located in central Việt Nam, is a city steeped in history and culture as the former imperial capital of the Nguyễn Dynasty.

The city is renowned for its historic monuments, including the Imperial City, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that has majestic palaces and temples.

To date, eight world heritage sites that have been preserved by the province have been recognised by UNESCO.

Huế Festival Week 2024 attracted about 100,000 visitors. — VNS