The figure will be announced in December by tourism experts and managers based on criteria set by the Institute of Tourism Development Research.

By the end of November, 2010. Thua Thien-Hue had received nearly 1.4 million visitors, a year-on-year increase of 11.7 percent. The number of foreign arrivals to Hue also increased by 7.9 percent. Its tourism sector earned VND774 billion, up 20.4 percent compared to the same period last year.

The number of foreigners visiting Hue through Chan May Port reached 20,000, four times higher than in previous years. Many luxury cruise ships have docked at Chan May Port, such as the Queen Elizabeth II from the UK and the Rhapsody of the Seas from the US, often carry out around 2,000 passengers from countries across the world.

In addition to Hue’s imperial relics, the province has more than 500 festivities, including more than 100 traditional festivals which have been revived and promoted.

The Hue Festival is held biennially on even years and the Hue Traditional Craft Festival is also organised every second odd year. They have become a special and unique part of Thua Thien-Hue.

Traditional craft villages with famous products have been preserved and promoted to attract more visitors, such as the My Xuyen sculptures, Phuoc Tich ceramics, Thanh Tien paper flowers, Lang Sinh traditional pictures, Phuong Duc bronze casts and Zeng A Luoi weaving.

The province now also promotes nearly 1,700 traditional and imperial recipes.

With all these advantages, Thua Thien-Hue became the nation’s cultural and tourism center.