Da Lat Flower Festival is a cultural and tourism event that has resonated domestically and internationally. In 2009, Da Lat was recognized by the Prime Minister as the “City of Flower Festivals of Vietnam”. After 9 successful event seasons, this festival has positioned the brand of the city of thousands of flowers, Da Lat.
Flowers in the land of thousands of flowers
Located at an altitude of 1,500m above sea level and surrounded by mountain ranges and forest flora, especially pine forests, Da Lat and its surrounding areas have a mild, cool mountainous climate all year round. Dr. Pham S, Vice Chairman of Lam Dong Provincial People's Committee, said: “There are hardly any places in Vietnam and the world where under natural conditions, typical flowers from continents originating from temperate to tropical climates can be grown like in Da Lat. Da Lat is known as a “kingdom of flowers”, with thousands of species decorating the city, making daily life more beautiful and attracting tourists throughout the four seasons”.
Da Lat, the land of thousands of flowers, blooms all year round. The landscape elements brought by flowers have moved visitors. What is very interesting in Da Lat is that each street is planted with its own type of flower to create highlights, such as apricot blossoms on Tran Hung Dao Street, mimosa on Mimosa Pass, white bauhinia on Tran Phu and Quang Trung Streets; roses on Ba Thang Tu and Ho Tung Mau Streets... The roads in Tuyen Lam Lake National Tourist Area are named after flowers. "Flowers are always present in tourist areas and spots; there are thousands of species of flowers in Da Lat city flower garden that cannot be found anywhere else in Vietnam, which shows that Da Lat is a flower paradise, Da Lat is a city of thousands of flowers," said Dr. Pham S.
Temporarily leaving the rhythm of the city, go to the traditional flower villages on the outskirts of Da Lat to experience flowers, learn about the high-tech flower production process; to listen to the old farmers in the traditional flower village of Van Thanh tell the legend of roses, to the flower villages of Thai Phien, Da Thien, Xuan Thanh to hear stories about chrysanthemums, lilies, and lisianthus... And go to Ha Dong flower village to go back in time, to the place where the flower growing profession in Da Lat was founded. In the late 30s of the last century, the first residents from the flower villages of Quang Ba, Nhat Tan, Ngoc Ha, Xuan Tao... traveled thousands of kilometers to the wild plateau to establish Ha Dong hamlet (Ward 8, Da Lat today). On their journey to the new land, they not only brought vegetable and flower seeds, but also their hometown's farming experience to establish the first traditional flower village in Da Lat.
Now, Da Lat has become a famous high-tech agricultural area in the country and internationally. The "Da Lat Flower" brand has created a position that does not stop at the landscape perspective, but is positioned as an economic commodity product with increasingly high value in the market. In 2023, the flower growing area in Da Lat will be more than 6,070 hectares, with an output of more than 2.5 billion branches; the average value of harvested cut flowers will reach 1 billion VND/ha/year, some high-end flower cultivation models will reach a value of up to 3 billion VND.
Asian Festival City
In early 2024, at the Asian Festival City Awards and Asian Festival Awards Ceremony, part of the 2024 Summit Awards and the Asian Festival City Conference, held in Thailand, Da Lat city was awarded the Asian Festival City Award by IFEA Asia, based on the successful organization of the “Da Lat Flower Festival”.
Chairman of the Da Lat City People's Committee Dang Quang Tu informed that the Da Lat Flower Festival was recognized in the category of “Most beautiful flower and garden festival”, belonging to the group of 5 impressive festival cities in Asia. “Through the Da Lat Flower Festival, the flower growing profession is honored and the Da Lat flower brand is affirmed, contributing to promoting the local economy. This is also an opportunity to introduce to domestic and international friends the style of Da Lat people as "gentle, elegant, hospitable", promote the Da Lat-Lam Dong tourism brand and local agricultural products... Up to now, it can be affirmed that Da Lat Flower Festival has become a cultural and tourism event of national and international stature", said Mr. Tu. In 2003, on the occasion of the 110th anniversary of Da Lat's formation and development, in order to exploit the potential and advantages of the good land, Lam Dong province organized a large-scale cultural and artistic event, including activities to promote, introduce and attract investment in the flower industry. This is considered the starting event for today's Flower Festivals.
One year later, Da Lat organized the Flower Festival. Based on the success of this festival, Lam Dong province officially organized the first "Da Lat Flower Festival" in 2005 and continued to organize it every two years. In 2009, Da Lat was recognized by the Prime Minister as the "Vietnam Flower Festival City". Up to now, Da Lat city has organized 9 Flower Festivals, with themes changing each time, revolving around promoting investment in the flower, tea, silk industries and developing local tourism. "Through the organization of Flower Festivals, Da Lat city in particular and Lam Dong province have achieved many successes in the goal of developing the flower and tourism industries - the strengths of the locality. Da Lat Flower Festival has left a good impression on the people and tourists, creating a strong driving force for the flower growing industry and Da Lat tourism to develop remarkably", affirmed the Chairman of Da Lat City People's Committee. Speaking at the opening night of the 9th Da Lat Flower Festival in 2022, Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan said that Da Lat - the city of thousands of flowers, after successful events, has left beautiful and deep impressions in the hearts of domestic and international tourists and friends; Da Lat Flower Festival - an event promoting culture and tourism has grown to become a cultural, artistic, commercial and investment space, contributing to bringing Da Lat - Lam Dong to the world.
