From losing the gap, Da Nang has risen to become a symbol of Vietnam's 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 of Vietnamese guests, of which Da Nang ranked first. Most recently, The Outbox Company announced the most favorite destinations for Vietnamese tourists in the first quarter of 1, Da Nang ranked second. As can be seen, Da Nang has always maintained its performance in the ranking of Vietnamese tourism in recent years, with 2023 million visitors in 8,6 and 2019 million arrivals in the first quarter of 1,4.
Hardly anyone can imagine, more than 10 years ago, the whole city by the Han River had less than 1.300 hotel rooms, and 1 million visitors was Da Nang's record number in 2007. At that time, Vietnam's tourism was almost a black and white picture, the destination that both domestic and international tourists know best is Ha Long Bay recognized as a heritage by UNESCO. Phu Quoc, Sa Pa, or Da Nang… are just very small dots on the tourist map of Vietnam.
Classy works have positioned Da Nang tourism to reach the international level
Developing tourism into a spearhead economic sector is urgently required by Da Nang. Ba Na Hills was born, creating a spectacular breakthrough and becoming a famous destination with the legendary slogan "Road to fairyland". Soon after, a series of high-class projects launched, from the first world-class 5-star Novotel hotel in Da Nang right on the banks of the Han River; InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort is the world's leading luxury resort with a record of 4 consecutive years winning the World Travel Award - "Oscar of the tourism industry"; Asian park with modern game system; until the annual International Fireworks Festival with the participation of many great powers, attracting millions of visitors to the city on the Han River.
From a quiet land with riverside cottages, poor in tourism products other than the best beaches, Da Nang was honored by the World Travel Awards as "Asia's Leading Festival and Event Destination 2022", with countless experiences that hold visitors 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 methodical investment policies and drastic measures of the city government, Da Nang has become a successful lesson in tourism development in Vietnam. One of the great successes of Da Nang is that it has attracted investment from large private economic groups.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tran Dinh Thien, former Director of the Vietnam Institute of Economics has repeatedly affirmed: “Da Nang is a model to attract 'eagles'. I often take the example of Sun Group. When inviting Sun Group, Da Nang has shaped its future portrait - a different and classy portrait. Except for 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 typical for a spectacular makeover thanks to centuries-old works
…to the blooming lands thanks to the “all in one” ecosystem
Da Nang is just a typical example for synchronous investment in a tourism - entertainment - resort ecosystem with a series of unique products, helping to raise the status of a destination and attract tourists. Like Da Nang, many localities also have spectacular "makeovers" thanks to tourism products, services and multi-in-one experiences.
Sa Pa, from a quiet foggy country only for a few backpackers and backpackers with a few hundred thousand visitors per year, quickly became the tourist center of the North with millions of visitors right after the Fansipan cable car hit two world records in 2016. At the end of 2019, the tourism revenue of Lao Cai province was VND 19.200 billion, 4 times higher than 2016.
Many large-scale projects have been born after the cable car route, bringing countless unprecedented experiences to this land, from the spiritual experience on the "roof of Indochina", to the luxury resort experience at the beautiful hotel like a fashion show "haute couture" Hotel de la Coupole - MGallery. After that, a series of products bearing the cultural imprints of the Northwest were introduced to visitors such as the largest rose valley in Vietnam, attractive cultural events/festivals such as the Rose Festival, the season of "Horses on the Clouds", the show "Dance in the Clouds"...
Impressive journey from a land of poverty to experience, to become the Northwest tourist capital of Sapa
For two consecutive years from 2019 to 2020, Sa Pa has turned from a poor land of experience to the Northwest tourism capital with Sun World Fansipan Legend being honored as "The world's leading cultural tourist destination in 2019", bringing great pride to not only Lao Cai tourism industry but also the Vietnamese tourism industry. In the first quarter alone, Lao Cai attracted 1 million visits, up 2% over the same period in 316.
Going further to the South, Phu Quoc of more than 10 years ago was a pristine, even somewhat remote island, best known only for its war-remnant prison or giant barrels of fish sauce.
With a beauty comparable to famous paradises in the world such as Maldives or Bali, but Phu Quoc only really "awakens" when it is invested to become a paradise of entertainment, entertainment and relaxation with the most luxurious resorts on the continent favored by the super-rich in the world such as JW Marriott Phu Quoc Emerald Bay, Premier Village Phu Quoc, New World Phu Quoc Resort or world-class amusement parks such as Sun World Phu Quoc, etc.
In particular, Phu Quoc is expected to become a new destination of the world when Sun Group invests in iconic works such as the world's longest Hon Thom cable car, the artistic Sunset Town, or the marriage 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 promotion not only in the domestic arena, but also gradually enrolling on the world tourist map. It is the synchronously invested tourism products that have created an "all in one" ecosystem that brings diverse experiences that can satisfy all groups of customers, thereby changing the image of Vietnamese tourism in the past.
Sunset town in Phu Quoc is following the Golden Bridge (Da Nang), causing the international media to sway
"Collection" of works identifying Vietnamese tourism
More than a decade ago, in the promotional videos about Vietnamese tourism released in the international community, the "nail" image that creates the "truly Vietnam" beauty is none other than Ha Long Bay. However, Vietnamese tourism now has not only a heritage bay, but also a "collection" of iconic tourism products that can represent the image of an entire land.
Mr. Graham Cooke - President and Founder of the "Oscar of the travel industry" World Travel Awards commented: "You can see a lot of 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 buildings. I think it will become a definite must-visit once in the life of 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 buildings for an entire land.
Speaking of Da Nang, international tourists will immediately remember the Golden Bridge - a bridge located at Sun World Ba Na Hills Resort created by Sun Group, which used to be a global phenomenon when it was popularized by many famous news sites such as Da Nang. Times, CNN, The Guardian hailed as the most famous pedestrian bridge in the world, ranked first in the top 10 new wonders of the world by the newspaper Daily Mail (UK) announced in 2021. Since the launch of the Golden Bridge, the number of international visitors to Da Nang has skyrocketed. In the first quarter of 1 alone, there were 2019 international routes to Da Nang, 27 domestic routes with a total of 9 flights/week.
Vietnam owns a “collection” of world-class buildings
At this point, when it comes to Phu Quoc, the world will immediately think of the marriage bridge - the bridge that "was up" the Italian media right from the moment the idea was formed. Mr. Graham Cooke has constantly praised this beautiful architectural bridge as a work of art: “The marriage proposal is an iconic work. You can think of all the famous bridges in the world, the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, the Tower Bridge in London. I envision in the next 100 years, marriage proposal will become an iconic destination. Having said that, Sun Group is really at the forefront of building iconic buildings, and proposing marriage is an example of Sun Group's forward thinking."
When imagining Vietnam as a luxury resort destination, the world cannot help but mention the InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort. This resort has created a feat that no other resort in the world has achieved – 4 times recognized by the World Travel Awards as the most luxurious resort in the world. If this is considered the Oscar of the world tourism industry, the resort designed by the famous "resort wizard" Bill Bensley has lifted the Oscar golden statue four times, making Vietnam a shining name on the world map of luxury resort tourism.
It can be seen that the unique tourism products created in a different and classy way have helped the destinations become famous and gradually identify Vietnamese tourism on the international map. In the words of Marketing Director of the World Luxury Hotel Awards – “Golden Bridge is a must-visit destination before you die”, Vietnam is gradually becoming a new bright spot in the world, with many must-visit destinations at least once in a lifetime for any international visitor.
In an effort to return to the golden age of the tourism industry like the time before Covid-19, large economic groups like 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 also becomes more attractive thanks to a modern cable car system that helps visitors travel easily, along with a system of unique Buddhist works on the top of the mountain. Sam Son (Thanh Hoa) has a new look thanks to the sea square and the largest festival landscape in Vietnam, the first modern water music show appeared for the first time ... erasing the image of popular tourism and old crops.
Sun Group's journey to "beautify the lands" will continue. Visitors will continue to experience many new tourism products on lands across the three regions. And, the position of Vietnam's tourism will continue to improve.
