At the press conference introducing the National Tourism Year 2026, Director of the Vietnam National Tourism Administration Nguyen Trung Khanh said that Gia Lai became the locality to host the National Tourism Year on the basis of the criteria of natural conditions, cultural resources, tourism development potential, ability to organize events and local readiness after merger.
Gia Lai has an area of more than 21,500 km2 (the second largest in the country), a population of about 3.5 million people, a bridge between the South Central Coast – Central Highlands. With a large development space and a diverse transportation infrastructure system including roads, aviation, sea and international border gates, the locality has many advantages in trade, regional connectivity and tourism development.
Gia Lai possesses rich tourism resources, combining the landscape of the plateau, sea and islands and the depth of indigenous culture. This place converges many typical cultural values that are pervasive at the national and international level such as the Central Highlands gong cultural space, Central Highlands Bai Choi Art, and Binh Dinh traditional martial arts.
Besides, the province also owns a system of famous relics and landscapes such as the Cham tower system, the Cham Dang Yam volcanic system, and the Phuong Mai – Ky Co – Eo Gio peninsula. These factors create the foundation for Gia Lai to position a distinct destination image on the tourism map of Vietnam and the region.
Before Gia Lai, Hue (2025) and Dien Bien (2024) were selected to host the National Tourism Year, the two destinations both achieved 1.5 – 2 times growth. Total number of tourists coming to the city. Hue in 2025 is estimated to reach 6.3 million visitors, an increase of more than 61% over the same period in 2024, of which international visitors will reach 1.9 million, an increase of 40%. Total revenue from tourism is estimated at more than 13,000 billion VND, an increase of more than 64%.
After being chosen as the venue to host the event in 2024, Dien Bien welcomed the highest number of tourists ever, over 1.8 million, with total tourism revenue reaching 3,300 billion VND, an increase of nearly two times over the same period last year, according to the National Tourism Administration.
In National Tourism Year 2026, Vietnam’s tourism industry will organize 244 events, increasing 1.5 times the number of activities held in 2024 – 2025. Of which 18 activities are hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism; 109 activities hosted by Gia Lai province; 117 response activities were organized by 22 provinces and centrally run cities. Activities are organized throughout the year, deployed according to each quarter’s theme.
The first quarter has the theme “Gia Lai – New Day”. Opening with the announcement ceremony of the National Tourism Year, the Countdown program “Gia Lai – Welcome New Year 2026”, welcoming the first flight and a series of activities for Tet Gia Lai – Spring of the Horse 2026.
The second quarter has the theme “Quy Nhon – Sea paradise, Gia Lai – Exciting destination”. This is the peak period with the Opening Ceremony of the 2026 National Tourism Year and activities to promote destinations, connect, attract investment, and promote sustainable tourism development.
The third quarter has the theme “Gia Lai – Experience the land of martial arts”. Including the Summer Tourism Festival, VnExpress Marathon 2026 International Running Tournament, Golden Kite Film Festival, contributing to diversifying products and attracting peak season visitors.
The fourth quarter carries the theme “Gia Lai – Touching the rhythm of gongs, touching the soul of the Central Highlands”. This phase focuses on typical cultural events such as the International Gong Festival of the Central Highlands, Wildflower Week – Chu Dang Ya Volcano and the Closing Ceremony of the National Tourism Year 2026, affirming the Gia Lai tourism brand.
Ms. Do Thi Dieu Hanh, Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Gia Lai province, said that this is a special milestone when Gia Lai province and Binh Dinh province officially merged, creating a unique land of intersection between the majestic space of the Central Highlands and the liberal beauty of the South Central Coast. The province will take full advantage of the above potentials to create sustainable breakthroughs.
From a business perspective, CEO of AZA Travel travel company Nguyen Tien Dat said that the National Tourism Year will have the strongest impact on group tourists in small groups and individual tourists traveling on their own. Promoted local events and festivals will attract attention, influencing the decision to choose this year’s destination.
However, Gia Lai’s infrastructure is still not a strength, as Phu Cat airport has few flights to other provinces and cities in the country, and airfare prices are high. If this problem can be overcome, Gia Lai will welcome a higher number of visitors than expected.
In the context of global tourism recovery and growth, Vietnamese tourism is considered a bright spot in the economic panorama. With growth momentum in 2025, Director Nguyen Trung Khanh reaffirmed the tourism industry’s goal of welcoming 25 million international visitors and 150 million domestic visitors in 2026.
To prepare a roadmap for this goal, within the framework of the press conference, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Vietnam National Tourism Administration also announced programs to promote and promote Vietnamese tourism in key markets in 2026.
Accordingly, Mr. Nguyen Trung Khanh said that the promotion work focuses on 4 pillar product lines (sea and island tourism, cultural tourism, eco-tourism, urban tourism) and emerging and potential products (culinary tourism, health care tourism, golf tourism, MICE tourism)…
Promotional activities do not stop at increasing the number of visitors but also aim to increase the length of stay and spending of tourists through high quality experiences. Thereby positioning the national brand – in addition to friendly, safe and attractive values, Vietnam is trying to position itself as a quality destination.
National Tourism Year is a national-scale cultural tourism event, held annually under the direction of the Government and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. The event has an important meaning in introducing and promoting destination images, typical tourism products, honoring tangible and intangible cultural values as well as promoting links in tourism development, attracting domestic and foreign tourists.
