Thua Thien Hue: Total tourism revenue in the first six months of 2023 increased by 148% compared to the same period in 2022.

To create an attractive atmosphere and draw tourists to Hue, the Thua Thien Hue Tourism Department has organized several tourism promotion activities within the framework of the 2023 Four Seasons Festival, such as the Hue Summer Festival 2023 held at the end of March, the Hue Hot Air Balloon Festival 2023, and most recently, the Hue Lotus Festival 2023 held at Tinh Tam Lake, attracting tens of thousands of tourists and locals.

In the coming period, the Tourism sector will continue to organize the Hue Hip-Hop Festival 2023 at the end of July, the Lion Dance Festival at the beginning of September, and the Wellness Tourism Week in November. These tourism events, along with the ongoing Hue Sports Festival 2023 and the upcoming Hue Ao Dai Festival in July, along with other attractive supporting activities, have been and will continue to attract a large number of domestic and international tourists to visit Hue, contributing to the overall recovery of the tourism industry in Thua Thien Hue province after being severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Furthermore, the recent commissioning of the new Terminal 2 at Phu Bai International Airport, which officially opened on June 17th at the end of April, presents a good opportunity for the province's tourism industry to prepare for the arrival of international tourists from several traditional and potential markets. This terminal has a total investment of nearly 2,300 billion VND, with a capacity of 5 million passengers per year (including 1 million international and 4 million domestic passengers). T2 Phu Bai is ACV's first terminal to apply digital transformation, upgrading its digital infrastructure and platform to standardize business processes and bring more convenience to passengers… “Through cooperation programs with domestic and international airlines of the province and the tourism industry, it is expected that from early July to October 2023, dozens of charter flights will be operated by Vietjet Air, bringing thousands of tourists from Kunming - China and Taiwan to Thua Thien Hue. In addition, the Thua Thien Hue Department of Tourism, together with local and Korean travel businesses, will organize the first charter flight from Phu Bai International Airport to Incheon (South Korea) in early August and will continue to implement it periodically if it proves effective. In addition, the flight route from Bangkok (Thailand) to Hue is also being considered for reopening periodically in the near future, as well as the flight route from Hue to Japan (possibly to Nagoya or Fukuoka). "The feasibility has been studied and surveyed by Vietnam Airlines and Vietjet Air," shared Mr. Nguyen Van Phuc, Director of the Thua Thien Hue Department of Tourism.

Notably, the first international flight to Terminal T2 of Phu Bai International Airport on the morning of July 2nd, 2023, departing from Kunming, China (with 230 passengers), marked a new milestone, laying the groundwork for the future development of international air travel to Hue. This is the result of the efforts of the local government of Thua Thien Hue province, the tourism industry, and related sectors, along with the cooperation of Vietjet Air and travel companies, who promoted the first international flight more than three months after Phu Bai International Airport Terminal T2 began operations (late April 2023).

Assessing the target market for tourists visiting Thua Thien Hue in the near future, the Director of the Department of Tourism, Nguyen Van Phuc, said that in addition to the traditional markets of Thailand, South Korea, Europe, and North America, and emerging markets including Australia and Taiwan, the markets of Muslim countries in Southeast Asia and the Middle East are among the potential markets that need to be considered for promotion.