What makes Hoi An honored as "the 4th most beautiful city in the world"?

According to the annual World's Best awards announced in July by the famous American travel magazineTravel & Leisure,Hoi An ranked 4th in the category of 25 most beautiful cities in the world in 2024 with 90.67 points out of 100, after San Miguel de Allende of Mexico, Udaipur of India and Kyoto of Japan. Hoi An also made it into the top 25 most beautiful cities in Asia, ranking 3rd after two representatives from India and Japan. This year, the award attracted more than 700,000 votes from experts and tourists around the world.

"This is a great honor and happiness," said Vice Chairman of Hoi An City People's Committee Nguyen Van Lanh about the results the city has just achieved. He also thanked the tourists who came to experience, explore, enjoy and understand Hoi An through the votes.

The city representative said that the destination has received many awards and titles. During the years when the pandemic caused the world tourism industry to "freeze", Hoi An was still voted as an attractive, safe and friendly destination. This partly proves the city's tireless efforts to preserve and foster a good image in the eyes of tourists.

AZA Travel CEO Nguyen Tien Dat felt surprised but "extremely proud" when Hoi An ranked high in the poll from a famous and prestigious travel magazine in the world travel industry. "I am even more proud when Hoi An ranks above cities that welcome a large number of visitors and are famous in the world such as Paris, Venice, Rome or New York," Mr. Dat added.

With more than 30 years of experience in the tourism industry, having visited more than 40 countries and hundreds of famous cities around the world, Mr. Dat believes that Hoi An being voted among the most beautiful in the world is "not unreasonable". In terms of area and architecture, Hoi An is small and does not have many massive and sophisticated structures like many other places. However, this city "has the upper hand" thanks to many advantages. The core of the old town is recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, the street space is imbued with traditional Vietnamese features despite being influenced by many different cultures such as Japan, China, Spain, and Portugal.

Besides, Hoi An has a romance and liveliness that few places have. The city not only has the sea but also rivers, rice fields, boats decorated with lanterns and floating flower lanterns, and live performances. Floating flower lanterns on the river is one of the experiences that international tourists who buy tours from Mr. Dat's company love.

In terms of experience, Hoi An has all the activities that tourists love: shops selling traditional handicrafts, beautiful beaches such as An Bang, Cua Dai serving tourists to swim. Hoi An cuisine is diverse and rich such as Cao Lau, chicken rice and fresh seafood. Hoi An also has tours to experience the life of the people such as a day as a farmer, riding a buffalo to visit the rice fields, cooking classes, rice cafes or sitting in a basket boat in the Bay Mau coconut forest. Because Hoi An is small, tourists do not spend much time traveling to tourist attractions and experiences.

"Hoi An is small and compact, it has everything that few big cities in the world have," Mr. Dat added. Walking in the old town, visitors can still enjoy the peace even though this place is always crowded with tourists. In addition, the local government has managed very well to preserve the ancient houses even though this place often faces floods.

In terms of prices, Hoi An is a tourist destination so it is more expensive than some other provinces and cities. However, compared to other big and beautiful cities in the world, the prices here are "too cheap", only one-third.

Director of Victoria Hoi An Resort and Spa Pham Van Dung said that if you want to explore all the beauty of Hoi An, you should stay at least six days. In addition to the old town and the familiar Bay Mau coconut forest, visitors can also relax and swim in the sea, experience sports such as sailing a catamaran, kayaking, and visit Cu Lao Cham. In addition, visitors can choose a tour to explore the countryside on a sidecar, visit Tra Que vegetable village, and visit the old brick kiln. For high-end guests who like to relax, they can enjoy massages, spa treatments, or stroll around the cool green gardens by the sea, watching the sunrise.

However, Hoi An also has some points that need to be improved. Nguyen Huu Phuong Uyen, a 35-year-old tourist from Ho Chi Minh City, said that although Hoi An has beautiful scenery and old town, delicious food, the old town does not have many cultural activities. Currently, the old houses are mainly used for sales purposes. The beaches are being encroached upon.

AZA Travel CEO noted that Hoi An is currently overloaded with tourists and facing flooding. Therefore, overcoming the overcrowding and implementing measures to prevent flooding, prevent sea encroachment, and manage urban planning are the top priorities of the government.

Vice Chairman of Hoi An City Nguyen Van Lanh said the city does not set a goal of winning awards. Instead, the government always tries to respect, preserve and promote cultural resources, ecology, biodiversity of islands, fields, rivers, villages as well as cultural lifestyle.

During the pandemic years, the city has spent time researching and evaluating Hoi An tourism. On July 31, 2023, the Resolution of the Quang Nam Provincial Party Committee on "building and developing Hoi An city in the direction of an ecological - cultural - tourist city" was issued. Hoi An is determined to become a tourist center of the province, the Central region and the whole country, a leading attractive destination in Asia and the world in the direction of green and sustainable tourism.

"We need to have a master plan and a long-term vision because Hoi An's reputation is growing and more and more tourists are coming," said Mr. Dat.