Gia Lai Province in Vietnam's Central Highlands is fully rolling out coffee-farm tourism in step with the 2026 National Tourism Year. It's a unique agritourism where you can enjoy everything from harvest experiences to roasting and tasting in coffee fields spanning over 100,000 hectares. The fusion with ethnic-minority culture, such as gong music, is a major appeal too.
News overview
Gia Lai Province has fully launched coffee-farm tourism as the flagship product of the 2026 National Tourism Year. Plantations ofCoffee Beansspread across more than 100,000 hectares within the province, with programs set up for tourists to experience the entire process—harvesting, processing, roasting, and tasting.
In Pleiku, a "Coffee & Culture Weekend Market" is held every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (March–August). Beyond tasting coffee and local tea and buying OCOP (regional-product certified) items, you can also enjoy gong-music performances and demonstrations of traditional arts by the Central Highlands' ethnic minorities.
The vice-chair of the Gia Lai Tourism Association says, "For domestic and international visitors interested in cultural and ecotourism, we want to promote stay-type tourism centered on plantation experiences." In just the first two months of 2026, visitors reached 2.2 million (up 14% year on year), of which foreign tourists surged 68%. The province has set a goal of attracting 18.5 million tourists a year by 2030, positioning coffee-farm tourism as one of the five pillars of its economy.
Gia Lai's coffee industry is also working to raise recognition ofSpecialty coffeetransforming from a mere agricultural area into a "holy land of coffee tourism." Guides and farmers cooperate to raise the quality of the tour experience, and the training of Japanese-speaking guides is advancing too.
Vietnamese readers' reactions
Voices of anticipation gathered on local media and travel-related social media.
・"Gia Lai's coffee fields are truly beautiful. If developed as a tourist destination, more people could get to know them." (Pleiku resident, agricultural worker)
・"Letting foreign tourists experience Vietnam's coffee culture at an actual plantation is a wonderful effort." (tourism operator)
・"The combination of gong music and coffee tasting—it sounds like you can have an experience unique to the Central Highlands. I definitely want to go." (Hanoi resident, travel lover in his 30s)
・"Not just a plain farm tour, but combining it with ethnic-minority culture is the differentiation point. It sets it apart from rival provinces." (tourism consultant)
Impact and key points for Japanese tourists
Vietnamese CoffeeFor Japanese tourists with a high interest in the culture of, Gia Lai's coffee-farm experience is a travel option not to be missed. About 40% of Vietnam's coffee production comes from this Central Highlands region, and a cup of coffee drunk on the spot has an exceptional flavor.
Access is about 20–60 minutes by car from downtown Pleiku to the farms. Domestic flights from Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang are plentiful too. The weekend market can be joined with free admission, andSouvenirscoffee beans for and local OCOP products can be procured on the spot too. If you're interested in "agritourism" combining sightseeing and farm experiences, do add Gia Lai to your itinerary.
Reference:Gia Lai bets on coffee farm tourism to boost Central Highlands appeal（Bao Gia Lai）／Gia Lai targets 15 mln visitors as tourism forum seeks breakthrough growth（Bao Gia Lai）／Gia Lai province unveils new attractions ahead of Visit Vietnam Year 2026（VietnamNet）
