From a narrow defeat, Da Nang has risen to become a symbol of Vietnamese tourism.
From the change of throne of Da Nang...
In the summer of 2022, the online booking platform Booking announced the 10 most popular domestic destinations for Vietnamese tourists, with Da Nang in the top spot. Most recently, The Outbox Company announced the most popular destinations for Vietnamese tourists in the first quarter of 2023, with Da Nang in second place. It can be seen that Da Nang has always maintained its position in the Vietnamese tourism rankings in recent years, with 8.6 million visitors in 2019 and 1.4 million visitors in the first quarter of 2023.
It is hard to imagine that more than 10 years ago, the entire city on the Han River had less than 1,300 hotel rooms, and 1 million visitors was a record number for Da Nang in 2007. At that time, Vietnam tourism was almost a black and white picture, the destination that domestic and international tourists knew the most was Ha Long Bay, recognized as a heritage by Unesco. Phu Quoc, Sa Pa, or Da Nang... were just very small dots on the Vietnamese tourism map.
World-class projects have positioned Da Nang tourism to reach international level.
Developing tourism into a spearhead economic sector is an urgent task for Da Nang. Ba Na Hills was born, creating a spectacular breakthrough and becoming a famous destination with the legendary slogan "Road to paradise". Immediately after that, a series of high-class projects were launched, from the first international 5-star Novotel hotel in Da Nang right on the banks of the Han River; the world's leading luxury resort InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort with a record of 4 consecutive years winning the World Travel Award - "Oscar of the tourism industry"; Asian park with a modern game system; to the annual International Fireworks Festival with the participation of many powerful countries, attracting millions of tourists to the city on the Han River.
From a quiet land with stilt houses along the river, poor tourism products other than the natural beaches, Da Nang was honored by the World Travel Awards as "Asia's Leading Festival and Event Destination 2022", with countless experiences that keep tourists coming back for a long time. In particular, the Golden Bridge project has become a phenomenon of Da Nang tourism, a unique tourism product that brought a strong boost to Vietnam's tourism before the Covid-19 pandemic.
With systematic investment policies and the determination of the city government, Da Nang has become a successful lesson in tourism development in Vietnam. One of Da Nang's great successes is attracting investment from large private economic groups.
Associate Professor Dr. Tran Dinh Thien, former Director of the Vietnam Economic Institute, has repeatedly affirmed: "Da Nang is a model for attracting 'eagles'. I often use the example of Sun Group. When inviting Sun Group, Da Nang has shaped its future portrait - a different, classy portrait. Apart from Sun Group, no one has been able to do projects like Ba Na Hills or the International Fireworks Festival. Different tourism products will contribute to making Da Nang different."
Sa Pa is also a typical example of a spectacular transformation thanks to century-old constructions.
...to the blooming lands thanks to the "all in one" ecosystem
Da Nang is just a typical model for synchronous investment in a tourism - entertainment - resort ecosystem with a series of unique products, helping to elevate the position of the destination and attract tourists. Like Da Nang, many localities have also had spectacular "transformations" thanks to multi-in-one tourism products, services and experiences.
Sa Pa, from a quiet foggy land reserved only for a few backpackers and Westerners with a few hundred thousand visitors each year, suddenly became the center of Northern tourism with millions of visitors right after the Fansipan cable car set two world records and was launched in 2016. At the end of 2019, tourism revenue of Lao Cai province was 19,200 billion VND, 4 times higher than in 2016.
Many large-scale projects were born after the cable car line, bringing countless unprecedented exciting experiences to this land, from spiritual experiences on the "roof of Indochina", to luxury resort experiences at a hotel as beautiful as a "haute couture" fashion show, Hotel de la Coupole - MGallery. Following that, a series of products bearing the cultural imprint of the Northwest were introduced to tourists such as the largest rose valley in Vietnam, attractive cultural events/festivals such as the Rose Festival, the "horse-riding in the clouds" season, the "Dance in the clouds" show...
Impressive journey from a poor land of experiences, to become the capital of Northwest tourism of Sa Pa
For two consecutive years 2019 - 2020, Sa Pa has transformed from a poor land into the capital of Northwest tourism with Sun World Fansipan Legend being honored as "The World's Leading Cultural Tourist Destination 2019", bringing great pride not only to Lao Cai tourism but also to the entire Vietnamese tourism industry. In the first quarter alone, Lao Cai attracted 2 million visitors, an increase of 316% over the same period in 2022.
Going further south, Phu Quoc of more than 10 years ago was a wild island, even somewhat remote, best known only for its wartime prison or giant fish sauce barrels.
With a beauty comparable to world-famous paradises such as Maldives or Bali, Phu Quoc only truly "awakened" when it was invested in to become a paradise for entertainment and relaxation with the most luxurious resorts on the continent favored by the world's super-rich such as JW Marriott Phu Quoc Emerald Bay, Premier Village Phu Quoc, New World Phu Quoc Resort or high-class entertainment areas such as Sun World Phu Quoc, Aquatopia water park...
In particular, Phu Quoc is expected to become a new destination in the world when Sun Group invests in iconic projects such as the world's longest Hon Thom cable car, the artistic Sunset Town, or the Kiss Bridge - a bridge as beautiful as a giant sculpture on the sea surface...
It can be seen that Da Nang, Phu Quoc, Sa Pa and many other famous destinations in Vietnam such as Nha Trang, Quang Ninh... are having a strong rise not only in the domestic arena, but also gradually making their mark on the world tourism map. It is the synchronized investment in tourism products that have created an "all in one" ecosystem that brings diverse experiences, can satisfy all customer groups, thereby changing the image of Vietnamese tourism in the past.
Sunset Town in Phu Quoc is following the Golden Bridge (Da Nang), making waves in the international media.
"Collection" of works that define Vietnamese tourism
More than a decade ago, in the films introducing Vietnamese tourism released to the international community, the "key" image that created the "truly Vietnamese" beauty was none other than Ha Long Bay. However, Vietnamese tourism now not only has heritage bays, but also possesses a "collection" of iconic tourism products that can represent the image of an entire land.
Mr. Graham Cooke - Chairman and Founder of the "Oscar of the tourism industry" World Travel Awards commented: "You can see many outstanding works in the world, in Saudi Arabia, in Abu Dhabi, even in Europe. I think Sunset Town (Sunset Town - Phu Quoc) deserves to compete in the "Premier League" of all the iconic elite works. I think it will become a must-see destination once in a lifetime for every international tourist".
Like most destinations in the world, Paris has the Eiffel Tower, London has Big Ben and Tower Bridge, Vietnam is also shaping iconic structures for an entire land.
When talking about Da Nang, international tourists will immediately remember the Golden Bridge - the bridge located at Sun World Ba Na Hills tourist area, built by Sun Group, which was once a global phenomenon when it was praised by many famous news sites such as Times, CNN, The Guardian as the most famous pedestrian bridge in the world, leading the top 10 new wonders of the world announced by the Daily Mail (UK) in 2021. Since the Golden Bridge was launched, the number of international visitors to Da Nang has skyrocketed. In the first quarter of 2019 alone, there were 27 international flights to Da Nang, 9 domestic flights with a total of 368 flights/week.
Vietnam is possessing a "collection" of world-class works.
When mentioning Phu Quoc, the world will immediately think of the Kissing Bridge - the bridge that "made waves" in the Italian media since its conception. Mr. Graham Cooke has endlessly praised the bridge with its beautiful architecture like a work of art: "The Kissing Bridge is an iconic structure. You can think of all the famous bridges in the world, the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, the Tower Bridge in London. I imagine that in the next 100 years, the Kissing Bridge will become an iconic destination. It must be said that Sun Group is truly a pioneer in building iconic structures, and the Kissing Bridge is an example of Sun Group's progressive thinking".
When thinking about Vietnam as a luxury resort destination, the world cannot help but mention InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort. This resort has achieved a feat that no other resort in the world has achieved - being recognized by the World Travel Awards as the World's Most Luxurious Resort 4 times. If this is considered the Oscar of the world tourism industry, then the resort designed by the famous "resort wizard" Bill Bensley has won the Oscar 4 times, making Vietnam a shining name on the world's luxury resort tourism map.
It can be seen that unique tourism products created in a different and classy way have helped destinations become famous and gradually identify Vietnamese tourism on the international map. In the words of the Marketing Director of the World Luxury Hotel Awards - "Golden Bridge is a must-see destination before you die", Vietnam is gradually becoming a new bright spot in the world, with many destinations that must be visited at least once in a lifetime for any international tourist.
In an effort to return to the golden age of tourism as before Covid-19, large economic groups such as Sun Group are constantly enhancing the attractiveness of familiar destinations by adding new and unique tourism products.
Ba Den Mountain (Tay Ninh) not only attracts visitors with its sacredness and inherent landscape, but is also more attractive thanks to the modern cable car system that helps visitors travel easily, along with the system of unique Buddhist structures on the top of the mountain. Sam Son (Thanh Hoa) has a new look thanks to the sea square and the largest festival landscape axis in Vietnam, the first modern water music show appearing... erasing the image of cheap, seasonal tourism of the past.
Sun Group's journey of "beautifying the lands" will continue. Tourists will continue to experience many new tourism products in lands across the three regions. And, the position of Vietnamese tourism will continue to rise.
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