Night economy with complexes that never sleep is a specialty of many tourist paradises. In Vietnam, there are some destinations that have initially made their mark: the night is not for sleeping, but for… spending money.
Check out the "lights" of night destinations
Around 8pm every day, at Sunset Town (Phu Quoc), streams of tourists flock to the Kiss of The Sea stage - a multimedia show staged by the French, creating excitement for the Pearl Island at night.
The show ended with a fireworks display lighting up the sky of the island city, accompanied by endless applause from thousands of guests. Then the crowd bustled in all directions, to the brightly lit restaurants, filled with cheers at Sunset Town, or to the Vui Fest beachside night market to immerse themselves in the vibrant atmosphere until late at night... Visiting the Phu Quoc Brew House craft beer factory or gathering with friends to enjoy draft beer at the Sun Bavaria Gastropub restaurant by the beach is a "brand new" experience that visitors cannot miss. In terms of "playfulness" to create a diverse tourist "hub" for both day and night experiences, Phu Quoc deserves to be praised.
As a result, at the beginning of this year, Phu Quoc became a "star" attracting international visitors when there were times when 38-40 international flights landed each day. Phu Quoc Airport is currently the airport with the highest growth rate in the region, reaching 185%. The total number of visitors to the island city in 2024 will reach 5.9 million, earning more than 21,170 billion VND, surpassing the peak of 2019.
Going back to the Central region, at Asia's leading festival destination - Da Nang, sleepless summer nights have become an indispensable "spiritual food". Not only attracting visitors with the DIFF International Fireworks Festival, but also to cleverly "pick the wallets" of tourists, Da Nang has boldly invested in many night tourism products. From Son Tra night market, Helio night market, Bach Dang walking street, An Thuong tourist area, My Khe night beach to new "entertainment districts" such as Da Nang Downtown with a series of well-invested products such as Vui Fest night market, Symphony of River show... have kept tourists staying in Da Nang longer, increasing tourism revenue.
It is not surprising that Da Nang tourism has had truly “sleepless” days: “sleepless” because of joy at the growth indexes and sleepless to serve the entertainment needs of tourists, especially during the DIFF.
In October 2024, the city's tourism industry reached its annual target. The number of visitors in 2024 served by accommodation establishments is estimated to reach nearly 10.9 million, equal to 135% compared to 2019, with total revenue of nearly VND 27,000 billion. It is forecasted that in 2025, the Han River city will reach nearly 6.7 million international visitors arriving and departing at Da Nang International Airport as new flight routes are continuously promoted to open.
The above highlights are typical examples for many localities to learn from. And that is not only the result of the continuous process of creating products, improving services, experiences... but also the "perfect" combination between the public and private sectors to do systematic tourism.
Night economy lights up tourist destinations
According to experts, night-time economic models create advantages in attracting tourists and highlight and color each locality and destination. The more diversified and rich the investment in the night-time economy is, the more likely it is to extend the length of stay and stimulate the spending needs of tourists.
There are many telling figures that show the huge profits from night-time economic complexes. For example, in Australia, the night-time economic industry creates more than 1.1 million jobs with revenue accounting for about 4% of GDP. In the UK, this industry also contributes about 6% of GDP and creates more than 1.3 million jobs. In the region, night tourism accounts for about 11% of the total tourism value and contributes about 2% to Thailand's GDP.
In our country, in 2020, the Government issued the "Project on developing the night-time economy in Vietnam" with the goal of exploiting the potential for night-time economic development.
According to Dr. Nguyen Anh Tuan - Director of the Institute for Tourism Development Research: "Night economy requires a high level of creativity. To exploit the night economy, infrastructure and services must be synchronous and products must be highly attractive". What we need now is a comprehensive project with the participation of the government, businesses and people. At the same time, the night economy development project already exists but needs more specific policy mechanisms to create conditions for investors to participate in developing this industry.
In fact, in localities that have had initial success such as Da Nang or Phu Quoc, the mark of large enterprises is very clear. That is bringing multi-experience entertainment complexes, synchronous infrastructure, professional services and highly competitive products such as large-scale theme parks, international-scale shows, nightly fireworks displays or promoting local culture and cuisine through creative night markets...
This participation needs to be replicated in many other localities, especially key tourist routes. According to Dr. Vo Tri Thanh - former Deputy Director of the Central Institute for Economic Management Research, for the Government's project to be most effective, there needs to be "a conductor - a group, an apparatus with the participation of many parties, experts, policy makers and large enterprises to have a comprehensive view of the night economy".
For Vietnam, the night-time economy is still a “blue ocean” with countless potentials to exploit. In the trend of rapid movement and development of the world tourism industry, if Vietnam does not “race” to unleash this industry, it will soon lose the opportunity to break through and become a leading tourist destination.
Le Thanh
Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/nhung-diem-den-khong-ngu-dau-an-cua-cac-ong-lon-nganh-du-lich-2377952.html
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