Hanoi Tourism Festival 2025 boosts local cultural appeal  

THE HANOI TIMES — With the theme “Experience Hanoi 2025,” the Hanoi Tourism Festival 2025 offers immersive cultural and tourism experiences that showcase the capital’s heritage and modern charm.

Festivalgoers will enjoy Hanoi’s renowned culinary culture, sampling traditional dishes like pho, shrimp cakes, lotus tea, sweet sticky rice, and Vietnamese coffee. They will also taste fusion cuisine, created by renowned chefs who blend traditional ingredients with contemporary techniques.

Guests can also participate in sports activities like golf and pickleball and observe live performances by artisans from Hanoi’s craft villages.

The festival features 150 booths introducing UNESCO heritage sites, such as the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long and the Temple of Literature, through virtual reality experiences, 360-degree VR, and 3D mapping. There are also networking spaces where travel agencies and hotels can promote tourism products and foster regional and international tourism partnerships.

To celebrate International Children’s Day on June 1, the event will feature a Robocon programming experience designed to encourage educational engagement through technology.

According to Nguyen Kieu Oanh, the vice chairwoman of the Hanoi Tourism Association, this year's event will offer live demonstrations by artisans, who will display their skills and interact with visitors, sharing the cultural stories behind their work. These activities aim to help tourists gain a deeper appreciation for Hanoi’s craft village heritage.

Travel businesses, tourist attractions, and accommodation providers across the city are joining the festival to unveil new tourism products and promotional vouchers. Hanoitourist is offering discounted tours of Hanoi and cultural destinations nationwide, with savings of up to VND8 million (US$315).

Haseco Travel is offering a special promotion to visitors who register for tours at the event, which includes free park admission.

The Hoa Binh Hotel is offering 50% off banquet room rentals and free use of LED screens for groups of 70 or more guests from April through August 2025.

Dang Huong Giang, Director of the Hanoi Department of Tourism, emphasized the strategic importance of the tourism sector in the context of the city’s digital transformation and growing international integration.

“Hanoi is enhancing services, diversifying offerings, and accelerating digital transformation to become a livable, creative city and a top cultural tourism destination,” she said.

The director said the festival will be a key catalyst in helping the city reach its target of welcoming 31 million visitors, 7.5 million of whom will be international arrivals, and contributing over 8% to the city’s gross regional domestic product (GRDP) by the end of the year.

In the first five months of 2025, Hanoi welcomed nearly 12.8 million visitors, which is a 10.9% increase compared to the same period in 2024. Total tourism revenue amounted to over VND51.9 trillion (USD 2 billion), up 14.1% year-over-year.

Hanoi aims to welcome nearly 15.6 million visitors in the first half of 2025, up 11.8% from the same period last year. This includes 3.7 million international arrivals (up 21.8%) and 11.9 million domestic tourists (up 9%). Tourism revenue is projected to hit VND 62.3 trillion (USD 2.4 billion), marking a 14.6% year-over-year increase.