Tourists at the Hue Imperial Citadel (Photo: VNA)
The number of visitors served by accommodation establishments in the central city of Hue reached an estimated 1.22 million in the first half of 2025, marking a 26 per cent increase compared to the same period in 2024, reported the local Statistics Office.
Overnight stays totalled over 1.04 million, up 30.3 per cent, while same-day visitors reached more than 213,000, a rise of 8.5 per cent.
Both international and domestic arrivals surged during the period as the city has hosted a range of prominent events under the Visit Vietnam Year – Hue 2025 and the Hue Festival, with highlights including the final round of Miss Vietnam 2025.
According to the city's Department of Tourism, the top 10 international markets in the first six months of 2025 were France, the US, Germany, the UK, Australia, Taiwan (China), Italy, Malaysia, Thailand, and Spain. France remained the largest source, with nearly 50,000 arrivals, accounting for 14.5 per cent of total international visitors, followed by the US (over 37,000) and Germany (over 28,000), which are Hue’s long-standing and stable tourism markets.
Hue has successfully leveraged a diverse array of events, including the Visit Vietnam Year activities, the Hue Festival, the “Hue – Culinary Capital” programme, and the Mega Booming music event. It has also hosted tourism activities intertwined with gastronomy, traditional fashion (ao dai), and street art.
Efforts have also been made to develop community-based eco-tours and agri-tourism in potential localities. In particular, Hue is promoting environmentally friendly experiences such as cycling tours to Phuoc Tich ancient village, visits to traditional garden houses in Kim Long and Thuy Bieu villages, along with explorations of the Thanh Toan tiled bridge and fishing villages around the Tam Giang – Cau Hai lagoon.
Visitors are also offered hands-on experiences like gardening, cooking traditional dishes, and joining the “Net Zero Day in Hue” tour. Other initiatives focus on cultural heritage preservation, renewable energy use, and promotion of electric vehicles, bicycles, and cyclos for sightseeing.
In addition, Hue is actively pursuing green tourism through campaigns like community cycling, the introduction of public bicycles and electric vehicles in places of interests, expansion of pedestrian zones, eco-boat tours on the Huong River, and digitalisation of visitor experiences with electronic tickets and AR/VR technologies.
Thanks to such efforts, the image of Hue as a “bicycle city” is becoming a distinctive hallmark, reinforcing its identity as a tranquil and experiential destination rich in cultural heritage.