Need to diversify tourism types in My Son

My Son relic site (Thu Bon commune, Da Nang city) has been an attractive destination for cultural tourism in recent years and needs to expand the exploitation of other types to maximize the destination's potential.

A corner of My Son relic site. Photo: QT

Cultural tourism brand positioning

My Son relic site was recognized by UNESCO as a World Cultural Heritage in 1999 with two criteria: being an outstanding example of cultural exchange and integration into indigenous culture; vividly reflecting the development process of Champa cultural history in Southeast Asian cultural history.

Possessing a system of Cham towers that are quite massive and regularly restored and extensively excavated, My Son relic site is a destination for tourists who love to explore the culture and history of Quang Nam, especially international visitors. Along with the ancient town of Hoi An, My Son is the two pillars attracting visitors to Quang Nam province (old) for cultural tourism.

In 2024, the total number of visitors to My Son will reach nearly 446,000, of which foreign visitors will reach more than 404,000 (accounting for about 90%).

In recent years, the management board of this destination has also made many moves to improve its appeal to tourists such as: renovating the landscape of Sa Huynh - Champa Museum; increasing art performances at the performance space; operating virtual reality tours, multilingual explanations...

My Son has also been recognized as a destination that meets the 3/3 Ngoc Linh ginseng standards according to the Quang Nam Green Tourism Criteria. In early 2025, Wanderlust Travel Magazine (UK) ranked My Son Temple Complex in the top 11 most impressive religious destinations that tourists need to explore when coming to Vietnam.

According to Mr. Van Ba Son, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Da Nang City, My Son Relic Site can still enhance its brand as a cultural tourism destination if it exploits more effectively the intangible heritage factor, specifically cultural and artistic activities.

“We need to invest more in art shows to recreate traditional rituals and convey knowledge about the destination to tourists through theatrical images. This will both create excitement and easily convey the general story of the destination to tourists,” said Mr. Son.

Need to diversify types

In 2024, My Son's total tourism revenue is estimated to reach nearly 71.5 billion VND. Of which, ticket revenue will reach more than 64.8 billion VND, sales service revenue (nearly 6.5 billion VND), multilingual tour guide revenue (570 million VND)... It can be seen that revenue from heritage tickets is still the main source of revenue to serve the operation of this heritage.

My Son relic site is a famous destination for cultural tourism. Photo: QT

The huge potential for tourism resources in the My Son Historical and Cultural Landscape Conservation Area and the surrounding area has been almost untapped. Connections to nearby tourist attractions such as Dai Binh Eco-village (Nong Son commune), Thach Ban dam (Thu Bon commune), Tra Ly lotus field (Duy Xuyen commune) are very scattered.

In fact, in recent times, the My Son Cultural Heritage Management Board has also made many moves to renovate the heritage landscape as well as revive the My Son Community Tourism Village (located right outside the relic site), however, community tourism activities here have not yet had positive changes.

Since 2019, the Quang Nam Tourism Association (formerly) has suggested the need to build a supply chain of supporting services adjacent to My Son. It focuses on improving the quality of community tourism in My Son village; surveying trekking and hiking models across the mountain connecting Tay Vien hot mineral water area; boating tours at Thach Ban lake; building a Cham culinary market... but so far everything is still just an idea.

The huge potential for tourism resources in the My Son Historical and Cultural Landscape Conservation Area and the surrounding area has remained almost untapped. Photo: QT

Mr. Bui Van Tuan, CEO of HIVOOC Company Limited, said: "The company sees great potential to exploit in My Son for tourism combined with biodiversity conservation as this area has many unique species of animals and plants and can be connected into a Son Tra - My Son tour".

Realizing the great potential that has been left untapped, in recent years, Quang Nam province (old) has considered socializing investment in My Son heritage to exploit this heritage appropriately. Most recently, the Prime Minister assigned the People's Committee of Da Nang city to plan My Son until 2035, with a vision to 2050.

The task of planning the preservation, restoration and rehabilitation of the special national relic My Son Relic Site approved by the Prime Minister (June 2025) has determined the nature of this area as a famous cultural and ecological tourism area of Vietnam and the world.

In the new Da Nang tourism space, My Son is facing the opportunity for more comprehensive development to be worthy of the stature of a world cultural heritage...

Source: https://baodanang.vn/can-da-dang-hoa-loai-hinh-du-lich-tai-my-son-3298052.html