Transforming Perfume Pagoda into a vibrant tourist hub

The Perfume Pagoda National Special Monument Complex (Huong Son scenic area) in Huong Son commune (Hanoi) is not only a typical cultural and spiritual space of the capital but also a destination with great potential. With a new approach and many specific solutions, Huong Son commune is now gradually shifting towards the goal of welcoming visitors year-round.

Many untapped opportunities remain.
The Huong Son historical and scenic site is a typical cultural and spiritual complex of Hanoi and the whole country. It was classified as a Special National Monument in 2017 and recognized as a city-level tourist area in 2024. With its outstanding historical, scenic, and religious value, it has long been a familiar destination for domestic and international tourists.

Every year, the Perfume Pagoda Festival takes place from the beginning of spring until the end of March in the lunar calendar, attracting tens of thousands of pilgrims and tourists, becoming one of the biggest festival highlights of Hanoi as well as the whole country. Beyond its cultural and spiritual significance, the festival also plays an important role in promoting the economic and social development of the locality.

According to data from the Huong Son Scenic Area Management Board, the number of visitors has fluctuated significantly in recent years. Statistics from the Huong Son Scenic Area Management Board predict that Huong Son will welcome over 860,000 visitors in 2025. However, in reality, tourism in Huong Son has remained largely seasonal, peaking during festivals, while remaining relatively quiet during the rest of the year. The challenge is how to more effectively exploit existing values and gradually transform Huong Son into an attractive year-round destination, rather than just a vibrant destination during the short festival season.

Regarding the limitations preventing Huong Son tourism from fully exploiting its potential, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Huong Son commune - stated that the shortcomings include inadequate and degraded transportation infrastructure , limited parking and boat docks, a lack of diverse tourism products, insufficient interconnected tour routes, and unprofessional promotion and digital technology application. Accommodation and food services are seasonal; and the local community has not yet fully embraced innovation trends and professional service standards.

Opportunity for a breakthrough
With tourist numbers still concentrated mainly during the festival season, Huong Son commune's overarching strategy is to effectively exploit its tourism resources, focusing on cultural and spiritual tourism linked to sustainable development. With a new approach and many specific solutions, Huong Son commune is gradually shifting towards the goal of welcoming visitors year-round, exploiting the expansive tourism space throughout the area with its rich system of historical sites such as the Perfume Pagoda route, Thanh Son Pagoda, Huong Dai Cave, Long Van Pagoda, Cay Khe Pagoda, Ancient People's Cave, and Tuyet Son Pagoda.

In the coming time, the locality will continue to implement many comprehensive solutions to renew products and enhance the attractiveness of the destination. The focus will be on developing unique seasonal tourism products, including the Perfume Pagoda experience program during the frangipani flower season. At the same time, a unified, easily recognizable, and widely disseminated brand identity for Perfume Pagoda tourism will be developed. Cuisine is identified as an important resource that needs to be systematically exploited and promoted, linked to the local agricultural products, creating unique culinary experiences for tourists.

Contributing to the development of tourism at Perfume Pagoda, he suggested creating one-day or two-day package tours suitable for international tourists. The local government is ready to promote the image of Perfume Pagoda to the international market through experiential tours combining sightseeing at Yen Stream, visiting Thien Tru Pagoda, experiencing traditional peanut candy making, and harvesting and using local medicinal herbs. A product needs to be clear and in-depth enough to tell the story of the destination.

According to Hanoi Department of Tourism, Perfume Pagoda has recently undergone significant and comprehensive changes, reflected in the renovation of its space and innovations in the management and administration of the destination. Following the initial renovation process, Huong Son commune will continue to invest in depth in Perfume Pagoda, ensuring the synchronized development of infrastructure, products, and service quality.

From the initial steps in beautifying and innovating destination management, it is clear that Huong Son is facing a breakthrough opportunity to more clearly define its year-round tourism development strategy, linking heritage preservation with enhancing the visitor experience.

For Perfume Pagoda to truly become a year-round destination, the journey of revitalization shouldn't just stop at refreshing products or renovating spaces. It requires the sustained collaboration of the government, businesses, and local communities in preserving the landscape, improving service quality, and telling the heritage story in an attractive and modern way. When cultural, spiritual, natural, and culinary values are harmoniously, deeply, and responsibly explored, Perfume Pagoda will not only be a pilgrimage site in early spring but will gradually become a year-round destination for experiences.

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