Hung Yen promotes smart and experiential tourism

The application of digital technology to heritage preservation and promotion is breathing new life into Hung Yen’s historic attractions, enabling visitors to connect and engage more easily while reinforcing the province’s position as a dynamic, attractive, and sustainably developing tourism destination.

Leaders of the Departments of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Hung Yen, Ninh Binh, and Ca Mau signed a cooperation agreement on tourism development among the three localities.

A vast cultural heritage

Following the administrative merger, Hung Yen has become one of the localities with the richest cultural heritage systems in the Red River Delta. The province is home to 3,716 heritage sites, including 12 National Treasures; six Special National Relic Sites; 284 nationally recognized relic sites and complexes; 885 provincially recognized relic sites and complexes; and 28 items of National Intangible Cultural Heritage.

The province is also home to more than 1,152 festivals and 257 traditional craft villages, along with 128 forms of folk literature, including folk songs, proverbs, chants, ballads, legends, lullabies, and ceremonial texts, as well as 128 types of traditional folk knowledge. It has 30 cultural elements inscribed on the National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage. Notably, Ca Tru singing has been inscribed by UNESCO on the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding, while the Practices Related to the Viet Beliefs in the Mother Goddesses of Three Realms have been recognized by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The State has also conferred the title of “Meritorious Artisan” on 56 artisans and “People’s Artisan” on 8 artisans.

This creates favorable conditions for connecting cultural, ecological, and coastal tourism along inland, riverside, and coastal routes. It also marks an opportunity for Hung Yen to tell its tourism story in a new way. In particular, the cultural space of Pho Hien blends seamlessly with the traditional village landscape of the Red River Delta, the homeland of Cheo folk theatre, the Mother Goddess Worship belief, traditional festivals, and craft villages, creating a distinctive and deeply rooted cultural identity.

In addition, Hung Yen is home to 257 traditional craft villages, including renowned ones such as Dong Xam silver carving, Nam Cao silk weaving, Hoi mat weaving, Minh Lang embroidery, Cao Village incense making, and the ornamental flower and bonsai villages of Phung Cong and Bach Thuan. These craft villages have strong potential for the development of cultural, experiential, and community-based tourism.

Diverse tourism products

Speaking to Business Forum Magazine, Mr. Pham Van Hieu, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said that the combination of cultural and historical resources, the Red River's ecological assets, coastal tourism resources, and coastal mangrove ecosystems provides favorable conditions for the province to develop a wide range of tourism products, particularly cultural, eco-tourism, coastal, and spiritual tourism on both regional and national scales. This serves as an important foundation for building Hung Yen's image as a dynamic province with a distinctive identity and strong potential for deeper integration with the region and the country.

Mr. Pham Van Hieu, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, speaks with Business Forum Magazine.

Building on its vast cultural heritage, Hung Yen aims to develop a diverse range of signature tourism products, including cultural and spiritual tourism centered around temples, pagodas, and the Tran Dynasty relic complex; community-based tourism and experiences showcasing the Red River Delta's rice-growing civilization; craft village tourism combined with local cuisine and specialties; and eco-tourism and weekend retreats at Con Den, Con Vanh, Dong Chau, and the coastal mangrove ecosystem. At the same time, the province is gradually developing modern urban tourism products, focusing on MICE tourism, night tourism, shopping tourism, and wellness tourism to encourage longer stays and increase visitor spending.

Hung Yen also has strong potential for high-tech, organic, and circular agriculture, as well as deep agricultural processing. Effectively leveraging these strengths will enable the province to develop distinctive regional tourism and agricultural products, helping diversify its economic structure while increasing incomes for rural, riverside, and coastal communities.

Hung Yen is promoting the development of flowers and ornamental plants as a distinctive urban agricultural sector, contributing to the transformation of the agricultural economy toward ecological, landscape, and service-oriented models. The province places strong emphasis on applying scientific and technological advances, biotechnology, and digital technologies in propagation, cultivation, harvesting, and product marketing. Flower and ornamental plant-growing areas are being developed into high-quality craft villages associated with eco-tourism, experiential tourism, and cultural and craft village tourism.

Development vision and breakthrough goals

According to the explanatory report on the adjustment of Hung Yen Province's Master Plan for the 2021-2030 period, with a vision to 2050, the province aims to become a modern industrial and service hub, a civilized urban center, and a strong marine economy, driven by science and technology, innovation, digital transformation, and green development. It also seeks to pursue a sustainable, efficient, and competitive growth model while fostering harmonious social development, preserving and promoting the cultural identity of the Red River Delta, and improving people's quality of life.

By 2050, Hung Yen aspires to become a centrally governed city and a smart, green, and sustainable industrial and service center in the Red River Delta, while preserving the cultural identity of Pho Hien. The province also aims to become one of the most livable smart cities in both the Red River Delta and Vietnam.

According to Mr. Pham Van Hieu, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Hung Yen targets welcoming around 10 million visitors by 2030, including 200,000–250,000 international tourists, with total tourism revenue reaching approximately VND 10 trillion. The province aims to gradually make tourism a key economic sector, contributing not only to economic restructuring but also to job creation, improved living standards, and the promotion of Hung Yen as a dynamic province with a distinctive cultural identity.

On

April 10, the Hung Yen Tourism Promotion Center under the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism showcased a booth themed “Hung Yen Tourism - Come and Experience” at the Vietnam International Travel Mart (VITM) 2026.

On June 19, 2026, the People's Committee of Hung Yen Province issued Decision No. 1938/QD-UBND approving the 1:2,000 subdivision plan for the Phu Cu South Eco-tourism and Urban Area. The planning area covers Tong Tran, Tien Tien, and Tien Hoa communes, formerly part of Phu Cu District.

The approved plan aims to implement the province's urban, eco-tourism, and service development strategy. Located adjacent to the Luoc River and the Tan Phuc–Vong Phan Road, the area is expected to capitalize on its connectivity with Gia Binh International Airport and Hung Yen Free Economic Zone. It is planned to develop tourism, resort, entertainment, and urban residential projects centered on the area's distinctive hot mineral resources, meeting residential, service, and tourism demands in a sustainable and environmentally friendly manner.

With the goal of making tourism a key economic pillar, Hung Yen aims to position the sector as an important driver of economic restructuring, job creation, improved living standards, and the promotion of the province's image. The province also seeks to establish itself as a distinctive cultural and ecological destination in the Red River Delta and coastal region, with sustainable development and strong integration into interregional tourism networks.

According to Mr. Hieu, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism will continue to advise the provincial People's Committee on the effective implementation of approved programmes, projects, and development plans while integrating, adjusting, and formulating new initiatives to suit the province's expanded development space. The department will strengthen coordination among relevant agencies, enhance the role of local authorities and communities in preserving cultural heritage alongside tourism development, and pursue the dual objective of safeguarding traditional cultural identity while effectively leveraging heritage values to support sustainable socio-economic development, ultimately making tourism a key economic sector and a growth driver for Hung Yen Province.