Culture, tech experiences drive Hanoi’s strong New Year tourism surge in 2026
Hanoi’s tourism sector kicked off 2026 on a strong note with cultural festivals, technology-enhanced attractions drawing hundreds of thousands of visitors, including a growing number of international travelers.
THE HANOI TIMES — Hanoi welcomed about 560,000 visitors during the 2026 New Year holiday, including roughly 110,000 international tourists, according to the Hanoi Department of Tourism.
The holiday period ran from January 1 to January 4, generating an estimated VND2.1 trillion (US$80 million) in tourism revenue over four days.
A night tour at the Temple of Literature. Photo: Huy Pham/The Hanoi Times
The city introduced a broad range of New Year experiential tourism products, including artistic lighting installations around Hoan Kiem Lake, the digital exhibition "Radiant Hanoi – Light and Heritage", a large-scale countdown celebration and music and art performances featuring Vietnamese and international artists.
High-tech tourism emerged as a major highlight. The large-scale 3D mapping show Kinh Do Thang Long at the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long, along with immersive digital experience spaces, offered new and engaging ways to explore Hanoi’s heritage.
These technology-driven attractions proved especially popular with young visitors and international tourists, bringing history and culture to life in a vivid and accessible format.
Night tours at the Temple of Literature, traditional Tet experience programs, handicraft and village product exhibitions, cultural talks on Vietnamese New Year traditions and traditional music performances in the Old Quarter further diversified the city’s offerings.
Throughout the holiday, Hanoi’s cultural and historical sites continued to draw large crowds. Hanoi Zoo welcomed 38,300 visitors, the Temple of Literature received nearly 230,000, while the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long and the Hoa Lo Prison Relic attracted more than 20,000 visitors both.
Cycling tours, community-based tourism, craft villages and suburban destinations helped spread visitor flows, extend stays and increase tourist spending.
Outlying areas also saw rising interest. During the three-day holiday, Duong Lam Ancient Village welcomed 5,500 visitors, Bat Trang pottery village attracted 1,850 visitors, Huong Pagoda drew 1,700 visitors and the Bao Son Paradise Park attracted nearly 6,000.
Hotel demand remained strong, with the average occupancy rate reaching 73.8%, up 0.5 percentage points from the same period last year, and several four- and five-star hotels reported exceptionally high occupancy.
To capture year-end travel demand, many hotels launched targeted promotions. InterContinental Hanoi Landmark72 offered complimentary room upgrades and late check-out, L7 West Lake rolled out its The Golden Chapter 2025 festive package and Pan Pacific Hanoi hosted a series of culinary and music events on New Year’s Eve to welcome 2026.
