Renowned American Magazine honours Buon Ma Thuot as the World's Best Destination
WVR - Following recognitions from CNN, Bloomberg, Warner Bros. Discovery, and others regarding Vietnam's coffee capital asserting its position on the global map, Buon Ma Thuot, Dak Lak, has recently been the only representative from Vietnam honoured by the prestigious National Geographic (USA) in the list of the 15 best destinations in the world for 2026.
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| Renowned American Magazine honours Buon Ma Thuot as the World's Best Destination |
As the only representative from Vietnam featured in the list of “15 of the Best Food Destinations in the World for 2026” (Best of the World 2026: 15 of the best food destinations), Buon Ma Thuot, the coffee capital, is highly regarded by National Geographic for its position as the world's Robusta capital, its unique coffee culture, and its coffee experience ecosystem tied to the distinctive Central Highlands identity.
National Geographic is a leading American magazine in science, exploration, and travel, renowned for its in-depth articles on nature, culture, history, and travel, and is one of the most influential publications in the global tourism industry, reaching hundreds of millions of readers worldwide. The list “15 of the Best Food Destinations in the World for 2026” (Best of the World 2026: 15 of the best food destinations) curated by National Geographic aims to introduce destinations that are not only appealing for their food and drinks but also reflect history, culture, and local identity through culinary experiences.
From "Vietnam's Coffee Capital" to a unique "Experience Destination"
In the article introducing the best destinations selected, National Geographic dedicates substantial content to explaining the allure of Buon Ma Thuot – a land considered the “heart of Vietnam's coffee industry”, while showcasing Buon Ma Thuot's strong transformation from a “coffee raw material region” to a unique “experience destination”.
According to National Geographic, amidst the global climate change affecting arabica coffee production worldwide, Vietnam's Central Highlands, with its naturally favorable conditions for robusta coffee and unique coffee culture, is emerging as an attractive destination for international tourists seeking new, less crowded experiences compared to familiar destinations like Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City.
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| Ambassadors and international guests explore the history of world and Vietnamese coffee at the World Coffee Museum during the World Coffee Heritage Forum. |
National Geographic notes that from a drink introduced during the French colonial period, coffee has become an indispensable part of Vietnamese life and cultural identity. Particularly, according to National Geographic, Buon Ma Thuot is considered the capital of Vietnam's coffee powerhouse and the home of the world's finest Robusta coffee beans, supplying over 70 countries globally. “This coffee bean is renowned for its rich flavor, amber color, high caffeine content, low acidity, intense aroma, and lingering sweet aftertaste”, National Geographic quoted Helen Le, author of "Vegan Vietnamese" and several books on Vietnamese cuisine, in the article.
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| Trung Nguyen Coffee Village - a special destination in Buon Ma Thuot introduced by National Geographic as a "unique coffee experience space with architecture imbued with Central Highlands cultural imprints".
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Accordingly, National Geographic introduced several special destinations in the "coffee-enthusiast land" of Buon Ma Thuot for tourists to experience and delve deeper into the local coffee culture. Notably, the World Coffee Museum is described by National Geographic as “a place housing thousands of artifacts related to the history of coffee worldwide, exhibition spaces, and interactions with global coffee civilizations”, “demonstrating Vietnam's role in the vast world of coffee”. This marks the second time National Geographic has introduced the World Coffee Museum to global readers, reaffirming the allure of this unique experience destination, where “visitors can immerse themselves in coffee culture”.
Alongside this, Trung Nguyen Coffee Village is introduced as a “unique coffee experience space with an area of about 20,000 m² and architecture deeply imprinted with Central Highlands culture, where visitors can enjoy many high-quality coffee varieties from Buon Ma Thuot”.
Buon Ma Thuot – "The Coffee City of the world"
Prior to National Geographic, Buon Ma Thuot has been featured multiple times by renowned international media outlets such as CNN, Bloomberg, Warner Bros. Discovery, and others as a special coffee destination in the world. In films like The Tao of Coffee, The Awakenings of Coffee, and Trung Nguyen Legend's Vision for Vietnamese Coffee – The Robusta Awakening, Buon Ma Thuot is praised by media outlets as the “capital of the world-famous Robusta raw material region”, “the birthplace of high-quality coffee beans cherished globally”. Not only honoring the value of Buon Ma Thuot's Robusta coffee beans, media outlets also praise the unique cultural, artistic, and philosophical coffee values from Vietnam, as well as Buon Ma Thuot, the coffee capital of the world. According to Bloomberg, “as Vietnam and the future of coffee become increasingly intertwined, your next cup of coffee will never stray far from Buon Ma Thuot's Robusta beans”.
In this list honored by National Geographic, the appearance of Buon Ma Thuot alongside globally renowned destinations such as Crete (Greece), Singapore, Rome (Italy), Cape Town (South Africa), London (UK), Tasmania (Australia), Sonora (Mexico), or Hawaii (USA), continues to demonstrate international recognition for Buon Ma Thuot – a place that converges unique values of nature, local culture, the “living heritage” of coffee, and the “great aspiration” to gradually become the “Coffee City of the World”.
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| Buon Ma Thuot, Dak Lak with a comprehensive coffee ecosystem, containing indigenous knowledge, cultural landscapes, and community livelihoods, is gradually becoming the "Coffee City of the World". |
With its position as the world's leading Robusta raw material region, Buon Ma Thuot has been gradually forming a “diverse coffee culture experience ecosystem” over the years, from vast coffee farms, coffee processing factories, to “products”, “exhibition models”, and “coffee lifestyle” loved worldwide, contributing to transforming Vietnamese coffee from a regular agricultural product into a “vibrant center of global coffee culture”.
Notably, the World Coffee Museum – an iconic structure of Vietnam's coffee industry located in the Coffee City urban area – has become a must-visit destination when coming to Buon Ma Thuot, Dak Lak. Here, visitors can admire the architecture deeply imprinted with the great forest and explore the history of world coffee culture through over 10,000 artifacts, specialized exhibition programs, and unique coffee, local culture, and 3D Mapping technology-applied performances of the Ottoman, Roman, and Zen coffee civilizations.
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| The vibrant experience activities of the three coffee civilizations: Ottoman, Roman, and Zen are a special highlight for visitors at the World Coffee Museum. |
Especially, with recognition from National Geographic, the World Coffee Museum has been honored multiple times by international media as the "largest, most vibrant, and unique living museum!" (according to AP), “a one-of-a-kind museum” (according to Warner Bros. Discovery), "one of the 19 best destinations in Vietnam" (according to Wanderlust - a leading British travel magazine).
Alongside the World Coffee Museum, in Buon Ma Thuot, Trung Nguyen Coffee Village, Trung Nguyen Legend's World Coffee, and Trung Nguyen E-Coffee, spaces belonging to Trung Nguyen Legend's chain of cafes, which the British Council has rated as creative cultural spaces and the number one coffee space in Vietnam, "have become important 'social centers'" (according to Financial Times), contributing to a diverse experience journey.
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| The Trung Nguyen Legend space has been rated by the British Council as a creative cultural space and an "attractive destination" for coffee lovers and enthusiasts. |
Especially, alongside the journey of exploring the history of Vietnamese and world coffee with unique, vibrant cultural and artistic coffee experiences, only available in Buon Ma Thuot, Dak Lak, visitors can admire the majestic Dray Nur – Gia Long landscapes along with experience services, “elevating coffee into culture and art”, “unique and attractive coffee tourism products” such as Zen Coffee Tour, coffee tourism tours with distinctive imprints of Vietnamese coffee culture and physical and mental training.
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| The Dray-Nur landscape, one of the unique destinations with a philosophy of natural conservation, was introduced by Warner Bros. Discovery as a distinctive highlight of Buon Ma Thuot. |
Besides coffee and coffee culture, visitors also have the opportunity to explore the essence of Vietnamese and local cuisine at the Three Regions Culinary Culture Center within the Coffee City campus. The space gathers many signature dishes, helping explore Vietnam's diverse culinary culture right in Buon Ma Thuot.
From the world's Robusta production capital, Buon Ma Thuot, Dak Lak is gradually asserting its position as a distinctive cultural-tourism destination, where coffee is not just an agricultural product but also a bridge to tell the story of Vietnam's history, culture, and identity to international friends. Continuous recognitions from CNN, Bloomberg, Warner Bros. Discovery, and National Geographic once again strongly affirm the position and image of Buon Ma Thuot, Dak Lak – the “Coffee City of the World” along with the unique Vietnamese coffee culture values on the global coffee map.
| Continuing the journey of spreading Vietnamese coffee culture to the world, on May 30, Trung Nguyen E-Coffee officially opened a new store in Katy, Texas. This is the sixth Trung Nguyen E-Coffee store and the 11th Trung Nguyen Legend space in the US market. Meanwhile, in Vietnam, Trung Nguyen Legend is expanding its presence in major city centers. On June 6, Trung Nguyen Legend will officially open the Trung Nguyen Legend's World Coffee space at 52 Truong Dinh, Xuan Hoa Ward, Ho Chi Minh City - a special destination for both domestic and international visitors to experience the essence of the three coffee civilizations: Ottoman, Zen, and Roman, and the unique values of Vietnamese coffee culture. |
