Hanoi will develop a smart tourism ecosystem combined with digital transformation in tourism to gain a competitive edge nationally and regionally, said Deputy Chairwoman of Hanoi People's Committee Vu Thu Ha.

Foreign visitors at the Hanoi Creative Design Festival 2024. Photo: Lai Tan/The Hanoi Times

"The city will focus on creating a sustainable tourism environment, ensuring infrastructure and environmental hygiene at places of interest," she said at an online conference on December 17 to take stock of 2024 achievements and outline key tasks for 2025 for the culture, sports and tourism sector.

The city plans to continue adopting effective mechanisms, policies and solutions for the development of culture, sports and tourism.

"Hanoi will take advantage of the specific mechanisms and policies tailored for it in the Capital Law recently passed by the National Assembly, while maximizing its cultural and spatial potential in line with the city's planning," she added.

In 2024, Hanoi welcomed over 27 million tourists, an annual increase of 12%. Among them, international visits amounted to 6.35 million, an increase of over 34% year-on-year. Tourism revenue exceeded VND110 trillion (US$4.32 billion), marking a year-on-year growth of 18.3%.

Hanoi has been recognized by the World Tourism Organization as a leading global destination and a top destination in Asia since 2022. In 2024, it was ranked as Vietnam's leading cultural destination.

The city also planned to restore and preserve its cultural and historical relics, and set criteria for recognizing urban landmarks. Hanoi has recognized 42 city-level places of interest for tourism promotion.

Hanoi has also developed several cultural tourism services, including the "Sacred Night" tour at the Hoa Lo Prison Relic, the nighttime "Decoding the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long" tour, and the "Quintessence of Confucianism" program at the Temple of Literature, all of which are linked to the city's nighttime economy and attract both domestic and international visitors.

"The city is committed to improving its capacity to organize cultural, artistic and sports activities. In 2024, Hanoi has hosted more than 3,000 national and international events," said Deputy Chairwoman Ha.

Deputy Chairwoman of the Hanoi People's Committee Vu Thu Ha delivers speech at the online conference. Photo: The Hanoi Times

Among the events, the Hanoi Creative Design Festival 2024, held in mid-November, attracted experts, young designers and more than 300,000 visitors, and left an indelible mark. In addition, Hanoi has established a Coordination Center for Creative Spaces, which has so far identified more than 60 creative spaces and contributors to cultivate them.

According to Minister of Culture, Sports, and Tourism Nguyen Van Hung, the tourism sector aims to welcome 22-23 million international tourists and 120-130 million domestic visitors in 2025, with total revenue estimated at VND980 ($38.5 billion) VND1 quadrillion ($41.2 billion).

In 2024, Vietnam is estimated to welcome 17.5 million international tourists, up 38.9% year-on-year, and 110 million domestic tourists, up 1.6%. Total tourism receipts increased by a quarter year-on-year to VND840 trillion ($33 billion). The country was honored as the "World's Leading Heritage Destination" and "Asia's Leading Destination" for the fourth consecutive year.

Hung said key tasks for the future include streamlining organizational structures and stabilizing the Ministry’s operations following the approval of reorganization plans.

Other goals include submitting the feasibility report on the National Target Program on Cultural Development (2025-2035) to the Prime Minister, implementing the Tourism System Master Plan (2021-2030, Vision to 2045), and launching communication campaigns to promote Vietnamese tourism in key markets, he added.

At the conference, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh outlined seven primary tasks for the culture, sports, and tourism sector moving forward.

The ministry and government agencies must make breakthroughs to intensify decentralization and streamline administrative procedures related to digital transformation, he said.

At the same time, relevant agencies need to develop strategic infrastructure using AI and digital solutions, issue policies to retain talent and encourage innovative thinking, explore public-private partnership (PPP) projects to realize initiatives, and adopt smart management practices based on data-driven governance.