8Wonder Music Festival - a 'boost' for Vietnamese music tourism

The trend of music tourism, combining outdoor travel to see idol artists' concerts, has recently been welcomed by many young people. According to a report by Future Market Insights, the global music tourism market will reach a value of 11.3 billion USD by 2032, an increase of 5.5 billion USD compared to last year. The need for purposeful travel has increased the market share of music tourism.

Expert Pham Hai Quynh, Director of the Asian Tourism Development Institute, said that "links" in the tourism chain will benefit from quality music tourism products. "Economic stimulus is created by increasing the number of bookings, accommodation, transportation, retail... Vietnam can create a tourism boost thanks to music festivals like 8Wonder," he said.

Forbes estimates that Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour has generated $4.6 billion in spending in the US alone. Each concertgoer spent an average of more than $1,300 on tickets, clothes, and travel. During Swift’s two Chicago concerts, hotel occupancy reached a record 96.8% with more than 44,000 rooms.

Thailand is also promoting the trend of music tourism, as fans are increasingly willing to spend more to meet their idols. According to statistics from Posten Thailand, Thai tourism earned about 20-30 million USD from accommodation, airfare, and consumption in the five days before and after BlackPink's concert.

"BlackPink's concert is an important part of helping Thailand become a 'music destination' in the region. Each concert creates a circular income for the tourism industry and the economy in general," said a representative of the Tourism Authority of Thailand.

For the Vietnamese market, Mr. Hai Quynh likens music to a magnet for tourists. Music tourism events are held more regularly, especially after the Covid-19 pandemic. According to statistics from the Da Lat tourism industry, each small-scale performance always attracts at least 500-700 tourists. Ha Anh Tuan's two performances in 2021 brought 10,000 tourists to the city.

Similarly, the 45-day WonderFest music and tourism event series, starting from June 1st with the highlight being the 8Wonder music festival featuring Charlie Puth, the billion-view star with a series of hits See you again, Attention, One call away and a host of Vietnamese stars, has also become the reason why thousands of tourists come to Nha Trang.

Being a Charlie Puth fan, when the idol website chose Vietnam as the first destination of her Asian tour, Ha Vi did not hesitate to spend effort to buy tickets and spend extra money to travel to Nha Trang. Before the show, she spent 5 million VND to explore the cuisine and experience the activities in the coastal city.

The desire to meet her idol was also the reason why Hyesu Yoo (South Korea) put aside her work to spend 3-4 days in the central Vietnamese city. Staying on Hon Tre Island three days before the show, the Korean girl felt the festival atmosphere filling Hon Tre Island. "Three days in Nha Trang were very happy. I realized my dream of listening to Charlie Puth sing and had a wonderful experience in Vietnam," she said.

Before the main event, tourists coming to Nha Trang were immersed in the atmosphere of thematic festivals such as the local specialty festival, the international children's festival, the water war... Without having to wait for the international star's performance, the daily schedule of tourists at Hon Tre is refreshed thanks to the rich tourism products.

Ha Vi and Hyesu Yoo are two of thousands of tourists who are enjoying the music tourism product deployed by Vinpearl. According to Mr. Jurgen Peter Dorr, General Director of Vinpearl Joint Stock Company, the WonderFest music and tourism festival opens a completely new and pioneering tourism product, contributing to making Vietnam a "must-see destination" on the international tourism map.

Thanks to the attraction of international stars and seven Vietnamese stars Ha Anh Tuan, Ho Ngoc Ha, Mono, Hieuthuhai, Tlinh, Amee and DJ Mie, more than 8,000 tickets were sold out in less than 24 hours. VinWonders hotline operators continuously received calls from fans, hoping that the organizers would release additional tickets.

The heat from the big music festival also radiated to accommodation facilities in Hon Tre in particular and Nha Trang in general. According to statistics on Agoda, a platform providing accommodation services, on the weekend of July 22-23, the number of room reservations in Nha Trang increased 6 times, a sudden increase compared to normal days. Some accommodation locations on Hon Tre Island operated by Vinpearl are always in a state of "no room". Many tourists said they wanted to go to Hon Tre Island to relax and travel before watching the show, however, despite calling to book a week, even a month in advance, there were not many rooms left.

Vinpearl General Director Jurgen Peter Dorr said that the formula to create the difference and heat of WonderFest or 8Wonder is created thanks to the series of festivals and the heat of international stars combined with Vinpearl's top-class accommodation services in the region.

To have Charlie Puth perform 75 minutes at the 10,000 m2 infinity stage, months before, the whole crew went through hundreds of online and offline meetings, calculations, and plans because Vietnam is still not a familiar destination for international artists.

General director Cao Trung Hieu revealed that he received a "difficult problem" from VinWonders: how to organize a festival that meets international standards and meets the strict technical requirements of Charlie Puth. Through many discussions, the crew had to think and choose a new concept to create a highlight for the first time taking place in Nha Trang. "We hope to tell a story about art, entertainment, and music, thereby highlighting the creativity of Vietnamese people, not inferior to the world," the director born in 1982 shared.

Specifically, meeting the technical requirements for sound in a large, open space on Hon Tre Island is a problem that the program crew needs to solve. Sound engineer Phung Chi Kien, working at a dance theater in Hanoi, analyzed that due to the terrain characteristics, sound often encounters many obstacles such as wind, noise, etc. Because there is no reflective surface, sound in open areas often feels flat and thin. Therefore, 8Wonder needs a modern system with the ability to accurately convey the sound of each instrument, especially guitar solos, drums, synths, bass, etc. to the audience in the best way.

To solve this problem, the organizers ordered the entire sound system from the front speakers, side speakers to the center speaker from the US. The console - the "heart" of the DS5 console sound system was also ordered by VinWonders and shipped from the US to Vietnam. "The high-class speaker system, scientifically arranged, allows the audience to listen to music as if in a top-notch dome theater," said Mr. Kien.

In addition to sound, 8Wonder also "treated" fans to a magnificent light party. The light strips stretched across the 10,000 m2 stage, moving flexibly to each melody when the artists performed, becoming an unforgettable impression on the audience. This lighting system was the result of the transportation, processing, and installation efforts of 200 staff three weeks before the concert. 2/3 of the MA3 lighting processing systems in Vietnam and two unique Magnimage EC90 control systems were brought to Nha Trang to serve the show.

"VinWonders' willingness to spend money helped us meet the requirements of Charlie Puth's team," said director Cao Trung Hieu. In addition, another difficulty mentioned by this director was the dialogue stage, how to make the Vietnamese and foreign teams in sync in their views. "I had to clearly explain the message I wanted to convey, the production method, creativity... Luckily, Charlie Puth understood the intention and was excited to come to Nha Trang to attend 8Wonders," he said.

Responding to the crew's preparation, "YouTube's billion-view star" evoked nostalgia with 21 of his most prominent hits during a 75-minute solo performance. On stage, the prince of love songs was surprised when Vietnamese fans knew his hits by heart. "I had a lot of great experiences in my first show in Vietnam," Charlie Puth said, choking up and pausing several times when fans shouted his name.

Ending the first opening show of the Asia tour, the singer born in 1991 said goodbye to his fans with the song that made him famous "See you again" - the soundtrack of the movie Fast and Furious 7. The fireworks display lit up the Hon Tre island, making the final greeting of the prince of love songs even more surprising. Many audiences exclaimed "Unbelievable", "So impressive".

In addition to Charlie Puth, seven Vietnamese stars also brought eye-catching performances with smoke and fire effects, alternating sound and light. For the first time, the audience witnessed Ha Anh Tuan and Mono sing a duet in the mashup Medley. The two-generation singer surprised everyone when he changed his hits Waiting for you and April is a lie to a piano background. Ho Ngoc Ha also performed "enthusiastically" with the band in three songs associated with her name including Xin hay thu tha, Keep me in live, Co don tren soco.

Under the stage, more than 8,000 spectators created a vibrant atmosphere as they continuously sang along to the million-view hits of Amee, Hieuthuhai, Tlinh... Thuc Quyen (20 years old, Ho Chi Minh City) was excited by the high-class musical experience. "The organizers meticulously set up everything from sound, lighting to stage effects, and the technical handling was no less than that of the US or Europe," she said. The couple Duc Long - Minh Anh from Hanoi fulfilled their dream of hearing their idol sing the song Attention live.

From this music festival, the organizers hope that 8Wonder can become an annual, even quarterly event, inviting many foreign artists to perform in Vietnam, to learn more about the country, people and music of Vietnam. They also hope that domestic audiences may not need to go abroad to have the opportunity to watch high-class music performances and stay in luxurious spaces.

"We want to develop WonderFest into a special tourism product, not only for the Vinpearl chain but also as an independent brand capable of attracting tourists, contributing to making Vietnam a leading destination in the region and the world," Mr. Jurgen Peter Dorr emphasized.