Nhon Chau Commune unveils horse mascot cluster to mark Lunar New Year 2026

The National Tourism Year - Gia Lai 2026 will feature 244 events across Vietnam, marking one of the country’s most extensive tourism programs to date.

Gia Lai province introduced its tourism potential and the theme of National Tourism Year 2026 at the “Gia Lai Day in Hanoi” event held Friday on Trinh Cong Son Street in Tay Ho District, aiming to boost national and international visibility for the Central Highlands locality.

Pleiku Ward on January 30 officially launched “Chợ Nhỏ Night Street,” a new cultural and tourism space designed to stimulate the local night-time economy and expand community-based activities.

Vietnam’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has approved the project for National Tourism Year 2026, confirming the title “National Tourism Year - Gia Lai 2026”, with the English name “Visit Viet Nam Year - Gia Lai 2026”.

The Secretary of the Party Committee of Pleiku Ward, Nguyen Xuan Phuoc, inspected final preparations on January 27 for the opening ceremony of the “Cho Nho night street” event, scheduled for January 30.

Wild apricot and đỗ mai blossoms are transforming the mountains of Vietnam’s Gia Lai province, while vibrant green moss carpets the coastal villages to the east, creating contrasting scenes that signal the arrival of spring across the Central Highlands.

Rubber forests across Gia Lai are reaching the height of their annual leaf-shedding season, transforming vast highland areas into sweeping vistas of yellow, red and brown beneath the rotating blades of nearby wind turbines.

Laos has been selected as one of the world’s leading travel destinations for 2026 by global travel publication TravelPulse, following an evaluation conducted by a council of international travel experts and consultants.

TasteAtlas has released its latest ranking of the 100 best dishes in Vietnam, based on 8,499 diner reviews collected as of January 10, 2026. The culinary platform validated 5,537 of those ratings to compile the list.

Gia Lai province is positioning itself as a major tourism hub as it prepares to host and co-organise activities for Vietnam’s National Tourism Year 2026, a move local authorities and businesses see as a catalyst for sustainable growth and brand-building.

Artificial “snow” displays transformed parts of Ho Chi Minh City into festive attractions on Christmas Eve, drawing large crowds to cafés, churches and Catholic neighborhoods across the city.

In 2025, Vietnam is expected to welcome 21.5 million international visitors for the first time. This milestone sets the stage for the tourism sector to aim even higher in 2026, targeting 25 million foreign arrivals.

A newly released bilingual book offers a comprehensive and evocative portrait of Vietnam’s seas and islands, highlighting their central role in the nation’s history, culture and development.

The gradual rollout of a night-time economy in central wards is opening fresh development opportunities for western Gia Lai, as local authorities seek to build more dynamic, round-the-clock urban areas.

A street food festival in Pleiku Ward has drawn large crowds in the lead-up to the New Year, offering a lively showcase of local cuisine and One Commune One Product (OCOP) specialties as part of a countdown programme to welcome 2026.

A scientific project to develop a set of green tourism criteria linked to unique tourism products in the Kon Hà Nừng Plateau World Biosphere Reserve is underway in Gia Lai province, aiming to promote sustainable tourism development and community livelihoods.

A former traditional martial artist from Vietnam’s Central Highlands is carving out a new path in the culinary world, blending Western techniques with local ingredients to tell the story of his homeland through food.

Gia Lai province welcomed its first air travelers of 2026 on January 1, marking the start of a year-long tourism drive tied to the National Tourism Year – Gia Lai 2026.

Vietnam’s tourism sector is poised for another major push in 2026 after a record-breaking performance in 2025, marked by strong visitor growth, rising revenues and international recognition, while warning signs emerge over sustainability and capacity.

Deep within the buffer zone of the Kon Hà Nừng World Biosphere Reserve, Hà Đông (now Đak Sơ Mei commune, Gia Lai province) remains pristine, home to Bahnar villages that exist peacefully amid the mountains and forests.

The Gia Lai Tourism Association on December 23 held its first Congress for the 2025–2030 term in Quy Nhon Ward, setting priorities for strengthening tourism development as the province prepares to host Vietnam National Tourism Year 2026.

The central province of Gia Lai will host a number of events and festivals next year for the 2026 National Tourism Year, according to its People’s Committee.

The Mang Den Culture and Tourism Week and Cherry Blossom Festival 2026 will take place from January 1 to 4, 2026, featuring a series of vibrant cultural, sports, culinary, and eco-tourism activities. This event is set to be a highlight, attracting visitors at the start of the New Year.

Phu Quoc has emerged as the most-searched domestic destination for Vietnamese travelers planning trips for the 2026 New Year holiday, according to new data from Booking.com.