The Hanoi Tourism and Culinary Festival that kicked off on April 16 has attracted crowds of people. The festival forms part of the city’s efforts to stimulate domestic tourism under the “Vietnamese people travel Vietnam” campaign launched by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. Deputy Secretary of the municipal Party Committee and Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee Chu Ngoc Anh said that the festival aims to promote Hanoi as a “safe - friendly - quality – attractive” destination. The event is also expected to provide good opportunities to promote tourism and culinary culture of Hanoi as well as cities and provinces across the country, he added. (Photo: VietnamPlus) 
The festival is jointly held by the Hanoi Tourism Promotion Agency and the municipal Department of Tourism, under the instruction of the city People’s Committee. It is scheduled to take place until August 18 at the area around King Ly Thai To monument, Nha Bat Giac (Octagon House), Le Thach and Le Lai streets and the Hanoi Children's Palace near Hoan Kiem Lake. The festival showcases cultural and tourism products in more than 200 booths, including 150 booths around Hoan Kiem Lake displaying tourism promotion packages offered by 12 cities and provinces and Vietnam Airlines, Vietjet Air, Bamboo Airways, and Vietravel Airlines. During the event, enterprises also bring over 1,000 tourism products with discounts of 15-35 percent. (VietnamPlus) 
Deputy Secretary of the municipal Party Committee, and Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee Chu Ngoc Anh said that the festival aims to promote Hanoi as a “safe - friendly - quality – attractive” destination. The festival also features the capital city’s culinary culture with typical dishes of Hanoi. There is a programme where visitors can engage in exchanges with culinary artisans and experts, along with a range of activities demonstrating food processing techniques. At the opening ceremony, visitors were treated to a special art programme and 2D and 3D miniatures introducing Hanoi’s prominent tourist destinations such as Thang Long Imperial Citadel, Temple of Literature and Hoa Lo prison relic site. (Photo: VietnamPlus) 
The Hanoi Tourism and Culinary Festival has become a prestigious tourism promotion event, attracting the participation of other cities and provinces, and people nationwide. It has served as a bridge of culture, cuisine and tourism between Hanoi and other localities. The festival forms part of the city’s efforts to stimulate domestic tourism under the “Vietnamese people travel Vietnam” campaign launched by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. A wide range of typical local dishes and tourism products in Hanoi have been introduced at the event, attracting a large number of visitors at the pedestrian space around Hoan Kiem Lake from April 16 to April 18. (Photo: VietnamPlus) 
In the framework of the festival, some 200 stalls are set up in the space around King Ly Thai To monument, nearby Le Thach and Le Lai streets and at Hanoi Children's Palace to display tourism products, and showcase Hanoi food culture with signature dishes like Pho (noodle soup), Banh mi, Com (young green rice) cakes, egg coffee and West Lake lotus tea. Visitors can also get to talk to leading culinary experts about Hanoi cuisine. The festival also introduces many new tourism products like a night tour of Thang Long Imperial Citadel, a UNESCO heritage site in Hanoi; a nocturnal tour at Hoa Lo prison; a city tour of Hanoi at night; or agricultural activities at the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology. (Photo: VietnamPlus) 
The stalls displaying tourism products are put up by 11 provinces, namely Ha Giang, Lai Chau, Dien Bien, Hoa Binh, Thai Nguyen, Tuyen Quang, Phu Tho, Quang Binh, Thua Thien-Hue, Khanh Hoa and Binh Dinh and Da Nang city, introducing tourist attractions across the country. The festival also features products from tourism enterprises, and domestic airlines namely Vietnam Airlines, Vietjet Air, Bamboo Airways, and Vietravel Airlines. Director of the Hanoi Tourism Department Dang Huong Giang said: "We have undergone difficulties due to COVID-19. Now the tourism sector needs to make breakthroughs and strengthen cooperation between businesses to create attractive tourism products to lure more visitors." (Photo: VietnamPlus) 
Thousands of attractive tourist products and signature dishes of Hanoi capital city and other regions across the country are made available for visitors at the festival. The Hanoi Department of Tourism has identified seven key groups of tourism products that it will develop to attract visitors to the capital as the latest resurgence of COVID-19 has been largely brought under control. Heritage tourism is one of them, with new tours for the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long, the Hoa Lo Prison relic site, the Temple of Literature, and Duong Lam Ancient Village, along with places of worship such as Huong Pagoda, the Tan Vien Son Thanh Temple complex, the Co Loa relic site, and Soc Temple. (Photo: VietnamPlus) 
Thousands of tours and new tourism products with discounts of 15 to 35 percent along with vouchers and gifts are introduced at the festival. Under the city’s tourism development plan, culinary tourism will be promoted in inner districts like Hoan Kiem, Tay Ho, Long Bien, and Bac Tu Liem, home to typical Hanoi dishes. Tourism products and services associated with the night-time economy will also be promoted, focusing on Hoan Kiem district, home to the Old Quarter. Sightseeing, recreation, ecological, and craft village tourism will continue to be developed in localities with the necessary advantages, including the outlying districts of Ba Vi, Soc Son, Thuong Tin, and Dan Phuong. (Photo: VietnamPlus) 
Visitors flock to the festival. Local authorities will facilitate adventure sports tourism and new entertainment activities such as hot air ballooning, mountaineering, and mountain biking at Ba Vi National Park. Hanoi tourism has been hard hit because Vietnam’s borders have been closed to international tourists since April last year. According to the municipal Department of Tourism, Hanoi welcomed just 1.93 million domestic visitors and earned some 5.4 trillion VND (234 million USD) in revenue during the first quarter, down 33.4 percent and 65.6 percent, respectively, year-on-year. The capital city will adopt various measures to attract 13.1 - 19 million tourist arrivals this year and will also make preparations for when Vietnam reopens its borders to international travellers. (Photo: VietnamPlus) 
Visitors rejoice with a new feature at the festival this year, which is the display of many 2D and 3D miniatures introducing prominent tourist destinations in Hanoi such Thang Long Imperial Citadel, Temple of Literature and Hoa Lo prison relic site, to name just a few. Nguyen Le Huong, Deputy General Director of Vietravel, said at a conference held earlier this month that in the current situation, the tourism sector should pay greater attention to the programme to encourage Vietnamese to travel Vietnam, and Hanoians to tour Hanoi. She said the tourism potential of the capital city has yet to be fully tapped, such as the beauty of outskirt districts and trade villages. (Photo: VienamPlus) 
The tourism sector of Hanoi is looking to use the local culinary culture to attract more tourists to the capital city. Phung Quang Thang, Director of Hanoi Tourist and President of the Hanoi Travel Association cites statistics showing that 70 percent of people engaging in night tourism activities enjoy food, 20 percent often drink and 10 percent engage in entertainment activities. He suggests that travel businesses should review and restructure their products to create more attractive tours. According to Thang, the firms should also work more closely with local authorised agencies to develop night tourism. In his opinion, with its advantages in night tourism such as the two pedestrian areas of the Old Quarter around Hoan Kiem Lake and Trinh Cong Son Street near West Lake, Hanoi’s culinary tourism will help travel firms thrive. (Photo: Vietnamplus) 
A booth set up by Vietnam Airlines, where visitors can try their hands at working as a flight attendant of the national flag carrier. Vietnam Airlines is set to expand its domestic flight network between April 24 and August 31 to meet the higher demand during the summer’s peak travel season. Accordingly, it will open six new routes: Da Nang - Vinh, Phu Quoc - Can Tho, Phu Quoc - Nha Trang, Phu Quoc - Buon Me Thuot, Phu Quoc - Hue, and Phu Quoc - Thanh Hoa. Meanwhile, flights between Da Nang - Thanh Hoa and Can Tho - Buon Me Thuot will be resumed. (Photo: VietnamPlus) 
A booth of the northern mountainous province of Yen Bai, which is home to beautiful unspoiled landscape and rich ethnic culture. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has announced the “Vietnamese people travel Vietnam” campaign, encouraging Vietnamese citizens to travel domestically to support local businesses after social distancing measures were eased. The campaign was introduced as the domestic market is now regarded as the primary driver for the recovery of Vietnam’s tourism industry from the crushing impact of the pandemic. Vietnam will continue to capitalise on domestic tourism during 2021-2023 and new tourism products will be developed in preparation for the return of international tourism in the “new normal”. (Photo: VietnamPlus) 
Hanoi hopes that through promotional activities, more tourists, including Vietnamese and foreigners living, working and studying in Vietnam, will come to Hanoi. The Hanoi Department of Tourism said the resurgence of COVID-19 in late January has discouraged many domestic travellers from visiting the capital. The city welcomed just 1.93 million domestic visitors and earned some 5.4 trillion VND (234 million USD) in revenue during the first quarter, down 33.4 percent and 65.6 percent, respectively, year-on-year. Given this, the city will adopt various measures to realise the goal of 13.1 - 19 million tourist arrivals this year and make preparations for the time Vietnam reopens its borders to international travellers. (Photo: VietnamPlus) 
A booth of the northern midland province of Phu Tho at the festival. According to a survey conducted by the Vietnam Tourism Advisory Board and VnExpress.net in March, of 3,500 respondents, 53.4 percent had plans to travel between May and September while 30.2 percent said they are ready to go on holidays in March and April. More than 58 percent of respondents said they want to spend their holidays in destinations that are safe from the coronavirus. Meanwhile, travel firms said that up to 60 percent of tours have been booked for the four-day national Reunification Day (April 30) and International Labour Day (May 1) holiday. (Photo: VietnamPlus) 
A food stall of Hanoi. The capital city of Hanoi is considered the epicentre of Vietnam’s rich, diverse and distinct cuisine. In 2017, the UK’s Telegraph ranked Hanoi among the world’s 18 greatest cities for food. “Rivalling the more international Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi’s compact old centre is arguably the better place to sample the balance of salt, sweet, sour and spice in Vietnamese cuisine,” it wrote. “Eat like a local and take to the streets for freshly prepared dishes such as Pho tiu noodles with a sweet and sour soup, pork and fish sauce; Banh mi, a baguette filled with pate, cucumber, herbs, crispy onion and chilli; and Com tam, broken rice with grilled pork, pork skin, egg and fish sauce”, it said. (Photo: VietnamPlus) 
The capital city of Hanoi is known for its delicious food. The US’s Cable News Network (CNN) suggested some popular destinations to taste Hanoi’s top noodle dishes, including “bun rieu” (a meat or seafood vermicelli soup), “bun cha” (a lunchtime dish featuring charcoal-grilled pork in a blend of fish sauce, vinegar, lime and sugar), “cha ca” (grilled catfish that’s been yellowed by turmeric and seasoned with dill and shrimp paste). Vietnam has more than 3,000 dishes. Last year, the World Records Union (WorldKings) recognised five Vietnamese culinary world records. The decision was based on nominations by the Vietnam Records Organisation (VietKings) earlier. Accordingly, the Appraisal Council of WorldKings approved an application for the country owning the most “strand and broth” dishes in the world. (Photo: VietnamPlus) 
The festival features exchanges between culinary artisans and experts and visitors, and other activities. Hanoi wants to use its rich culinary culture to attract more visitors. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has launched the “Vietnamese people travel Vietnam” campaign, encouraging Vietnamese citizens to travel domestically to support local businesses after social distancing measures were eased. The domestic market is now regarded as the primary driver for the recovery of Vietnam’s tourism industry from the crushing impact of the pandemic. According to Deputy Director General of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, Ha Van Sieu, local visitors had an enthusiastic response to the ministry’s stimulus campaign as they were well informed of new tourism products. (Photo: VietnamPlus) 
The Hanoi Department of Tourism is working to promote culinary tourism in inner districts like Hoan Kiem, Tay Ho, Long Bien, and Bac Tu Liem, which are home to typical Hanoi dishes. The dishes can be tried at the Hanoi Tourism and Culinary Festival, which is jointly held by the Hanoi Tourism Promotion Agency and the Department of Tourism, under the instruction of the city People’s Committee. It takes place at the King Ly Thai To area, Nha Bat Giac (Octagon House), Le Thach and Le Lai streets and the Hanoi Children's Palace. Tourism products and services associated with the night-time economy will also be promoted, centring on Hoan Kiem district. (Photo: VietnamPlus) 
The festival is designed to introduce Hanoi’s history, culture and cuisines, and promote its image as a safe, friendly, quality and attractive destination. Hanoi authorities hope that the festival will contribute to boosting the recovery of the tourism sector, completing the dual goals of COVID-19 prevention and control, and socio-economic development. Director of the Hanoi Department of Tourism Dang Huong Giang said Hanoi served only 1.93 million domestic visitors and earned some 5.4 trillion VND (234 million USD) in revenue during the first quarter, down 33.4 percent and 65.6 percent, respectively, year-on-year. The city will adopt various measures to attract 13.1 - 19 million tourist arrivals this year. (Photo: VietnamPlus) VNA
