Unique Vietnamese culinary map

The festival "Promoting Vietnamese culinary culture" organized by the Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Association in coordination with functional units to promote and honor the unique culinary culture of regions across the country, officially opened on the evening of October 20, at Thong Nhat Hall, Ho Chi Minh City.

Food paradise

According to the reporter of Nguoi Lao Dong Newspaper, the later the night of October 20, the more visitors came to visit and enjoy the cuisine at the festival. Many families brought their children to experience the typical dishes from all regions. There were about 100 booths with typical dishes from each province, city, and region across the country attracting visitors and enjoying.

One of the special activities of the festival is the competition to prepare and display 126 dishes on the Vietnam Cuisine Map, and at the same time set a record for the Vietnam Cuisine Map with typical dishes from all regions of the country.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Khanh, Chairwoman of the Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Association, said that the Vietnam Cuisine Map has set a record with 126 dishes and the next phase will gradually increase the number. The Cuisine Map is a way to preserve and honor traditional culture, bring Vietnamese cuisine to international standards, and contribute to promoting tourism. The goal is to strive to make Vietnam a paradise of world cuisine.

The "Promoting Vietnamese Culinary Culture" festival takes place at a time when the Vietnamese tourism industry is focusing on implementing solutions to accelerate tourism recovery, especially efforts to attract international visitors during the peak season at the end of this year. According to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, up to this point, the tourism industry has welcomed nearly 10 million international visitors and about 100 million domestic visitors. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has adjusted the target from 8 million international visitors to about 12 - 13 million, creating a new driving force to accelerate tourism.

Mr. Nguyen Trung Khanh, Director of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, said that the efforts of the entire tourism industry have contributed to making Vietnam a bright spot on the regional and international tourism map. In the Vietnam Tourism Development Strategy to 2030, culinary culture is identified as the main cultural stream and cuisine is also proving its appeal. "Pho, beef noodle soup, Quang noodles... have become attractive dishes for international tourists, contributing to promoting and elevating Vietnamese culinary tourism. Cuisine is always focused on in tourism promotion and advertising programs or at festivals, in which Ho Chi Minh City pays great attention to promoting culinary tourism" - Mr. Khanh said.

Delegates pressed the button to open the "Promoting Vietnamese culinary culture" festival on the evening of October 20. Photo: BINH AN

Become the "kitchen of the world"

According to experts and businesses, for the tourism industry, cuisine is an important factor, contributing to determining business efficiency, and is one of the strengths of Vietnamese tourism. The typical cuisine of a destination contributes to attracting tourists, extending the length of stay, increasing the average spending of visitors, increasing tourism revenue and creating revenue for the local tourism industry. For example, in Ho Chi Minh City, during the period when the city's economy slowed down in the first quarter of 2023, up to 4/9 key service industries had negative growth, but the accommodation and food service industry was a bright spot with the highest growth rate of more than 24% over the same period.

Ms. Bui Thi Ngoc Hieu, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism, said that in 2023, one of the highlights of Vietnam's culinary tourism products is the event that for the first time, 55 restaurants in the city were recognized by the Michelin Guide - the world's prestigious culinary guidebook that is over 120 years old. This is a big step forward for Ho Chi Minh City's culinary tourism, contributing to increasing the communication effect to attract domestic and foreign tourists to come and experience rich and attractive cuisine.

The draft Strategy for Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Development to 2030, with a vision to 2050, also considers cuisine to be one of the city's main tourism products. The specific development goal of the city's tourism industry in the 2022-2025 period will raise awareness of domestic and international tourists about cuisine; in the 2025-2030 period, cuisine will be the main driving force for tourism growth and have an international brand. In particular, activities and events to honor and promote culinary tourism products are essential.

"When Vietnamese cuisine in general and Ho Chi Minh City cuisine in particular are increasingly positioned on the international culinary map with many diverse and attractive dishes, culinary tourism will also develop more and more, the goal of becoming the "kitchen of the world" - an attractive destination attracting international visitors will not be far away" - Ms. Ngoc Hieu said.

The festival takes place over 3 days from October 20 to 22. Visitors will experience rich and attractive programs such as culinary performances, cooking lessons on stage, culinary experiences and discoveries, and the display of the Vietnamese Culinary Map with 126 delicious dishes from 63 provinces and cities...

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