National Tourism Year to highlight Hue festival

Hue Festival, the annual international event being held for seventh time in the northern central coastal province of Thua Thien-Hue, will be the highlight of Vietnam's National Tourism Year 2012. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and People’s Committee of Thua Thien-Hue province on Nov. 23 held a press conference in Hanoi to announce the National Tourism Year 2012 programme and the schedule for Hue Festival. Hue Festival will be held from April 7 to 15, 2012, and be the first major event of the tourism year. The festival will include key events including the Imperial Night, Oriental Night, Nam Giao ritual offering, a grand show of traditional dress, installation art displays, a children's festival, the Hue Poetry Festival, and food days.

2012 Hue Festival to open in April

As many as 23 art troupes from 12 countries around the world have registered to participate in the Hue Festival, scheduled to take place April 7-15, 2012.  Deputy Chairman of the Thua Thien Hue provincial People’s Committee and head of the Festival’s organising board, Ngo Hoa, said the event, with the theme "Cultural Heritage Combined with Economic Development and International Integration," will open National Tourism Year 2012. Highlights of the festival will include the Nam Giao Offering Ritual, an Ao Dai (Traditional Dress) Grand Show, Royal Night, Legends of the the Huong (Perfume) River and Oriental Night.

Thua Thien-Hue to host National Tourism Year 2012

The National Tourism Year 2012 themed “Hue-Ancient capital city-New experiences” will be held in central Thua Thien-Hue Province. The event is expected to promote Vietnam’s tourism products and cultural heritages, attract more foreign tourists and boost domestic tourism.  Hue Festival – a quintessential biennial event of Vietnamese cultural heritages – will be the major cultural draw card. Lying on the north-south railway and main road connected to Laos and northeastern Thailand and with the Phu Bai International Airport and the Chan May Seaport, Thua Thien-Hue Province will be a stopover for central and nationwide tourists.