Hanoi launches AI-powered smart tourism platform and digital map

Designed to connect cultural heritage with practical visitor experiences, the platform enables users to search for destinations, dining, accommodation, events and tours in one place rather than across fragmented sources. Its “Explore” section integrates data on 1,464 historical and cultural relics alongside hundreds of heritage, spiritual, craft village and eco-tourism sites, complete with photos, visitor notes, ticket prices and transit guides for taxis, motorbikes and buses.

Under service categories, the dining directory spans street food, local specialties, vegetarian eateries, cafes and international restaurants, while the accommodation section lists 113 hotels alongside homestays and apartments. The platform also tracks cultural, artistic and music events chronologically, offering 56 tours and 30 curated experiences covering craft villages, cuisine and suburban eco-tourism, featuring detailed itineraries and cost projections. Users can directly book tables and rooms, purchase tours, generate QR e-tickets and take 360-degree virtual tours on the system.

The smart digital map operates offline, with GPS coordinates calibrated precisely to venue entrances. Map icons automatically update to reflect opening hours and display essential amenities within a 500m-1km radius, alongside metro lines, hospitals, police stations and flood-prone areas. Map data is categorised into three reliability tiers: city-verified, destination-provided and community-recommended information.

The platform also integrates a bilingual AI travel assistant supporting Vietnamese and English voice interactions, camera-based landmark recognition and itineraries tailored to specific timeframes such as three hours, a half-day, a full day or night tours.

For visitor safety, the interface features a permanent SOS button connecting directly to the municipal police hotline and transmitting user coordinates via iHanoi, alongside QR code access deployed across 1,445 places of interest, Noi Bai International Airport and the city’s bus network.

Digital transformation – a lever for building a smart tourism ecosystem

Amid strong post-pandemic recovery and intensifying competition from regional destinations, Vietnam’s tourism sector is entering a new development phase in which digital technology is emerging as a key lever to transform management, business operations and visitor services, paving the way for more sustainable growth.