Hue plans to receive 3 million visitors annually

Thua Thien Hue province is expected to receive 2.5-3 million visitors, half of them from overseas, annually from now until 2015. Phan Tien Dung, Director of the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said that the tourism sector is creating an open and transparent business environment to make full use of all the resources provided by domestic and foreign investors. In addition, the province is developing new tourism packages, including spiritual forms, places of entertainment and eco-tourism. Visitors will have the chance to enjoy many more cultural activities, historical sites, traditional craft villages, maritime tourism and adventure tours. It is also focused on promoting the heritage values of the old imperial city. Thua Thien-Hue is one of Vietnam’s most attractive destinations. Its tourism turnover has increased at an average annual growth of 20-25 percent from VND543 billion in 2005 to VND1,130 billion in 2010. At present, the province welcomes 1.5-2 million visitors per year, who are mainly from Western Europe, Northern America, Southeast Asia, Northern Asia and other new markets. Over the past five years, the province has attracted 48 major projects with a combined capital of VND40,000 billion. Despite these achievements, the tourism sector is still confronted with a number of problems arising from scattered investments in tourism industry and poor promotion.