Sports tourism and Quang Ninh's leading role in the national ecosystem.

Sports tourism is opening up a new development space for Vietnamese tourism, with the simultaneous participation of the market, the athlete community, and localities with the capacity to organize such events.

Quang Ninh is emerging as an important hub in Vietnam's sports tourism market.

In this context, Quang Ninh has become one of the leading localities in this trend by connecting its resources with infrastructure and international event brands. The strategic phase of sports tourism places new demands on institutions, value chains, and national coordination, rather than simply expanding tournaments or increasing the number of events.

Quang Ninh : Extreme development of sports tourism in the new phase.

In recent years, Quang Ninh has emerged as a crucial hub in Vietnam's sports tourism market. This is not due to a single event, but rather to the convergence of several key policy and market factors: robust tourism infrastructure, diverse ecological resources (sea, mountains, forests, islands), a widespread sports movement, and the capacity to organize large-scale events.

When the Halong Bay Heritage Marathon was awarded the World Label by the International Athletics Federation, Quang Ninh province marked its place on the international running map and brought the name of Halong Bay into the global event system, something that pure tourism alone would find difficult to achieve in a short time.

This is a clear manifestation of the trend towards high-value experiential tourism, in which sport tourism acts as a "booster" for destination branding.

Notably, it's not the number of tournaments that matters, but rather the operational capacity of the local sports tourism ecosystem. Quang Ninh boasts an accommodation system with over 44,000 rooms, four operational international standard golf courses, 10 standard beaches, and a comprehensive network of sea, air, and land transportation.

Along with that, there is a widespread sports movement with 42% of the population participating in sports and thousands of clubs. These conditions have helped Quang Ninh develop integrated sports products: swimming, running, golf, rowing, trekking, trail running, yoga, and wellness.

The combination of natural resources and market infrastructure ensures that sports tourism is not separate from other tourism services, but rather adds value and increases the average spending of tourists.

The Halong Bay Heritage Marathon has been awarded the World Label by the International Athletics Federation.

At the policy level, Quang Ninh's view of sport tourism as a strategic component of year-round tourism is a long-term step. In the development mindset for the 2025-2035 period, the "experience" factor will replace "sightseeing" as the main driver for tourism development.

Sports tourism ideally aligns with this trend because it creates sustainable demand, attracts high-spending tourists, and reduces seasonality, the biggest problem for coastal tourism in the North.

Yen Tu, Binh Lieu, and Ha Long Bay - Bai Tu Long have proven effective in increasing accommodation capacity, boosting service revenue, and extending the length of stay when hosting trail races, marathons, or mountain climbing events.

However, to become a fully developed hub for the industry, Quang Ninh still needs to strengthen its supporting service layers such as sports medicine, event insurance, nutrition services, coaches, sports instructors, sports commerce, and performance analytics technology.

Sports only become an industry when a complete value chain is formed; if it only stops at tournaments and media coverage, this is merely the tip of the market.

The formation of value chains also opens up room for socialization, because when benefits are widely dispersed, the market operates autonomously without the need for many administrative orders. As a development hub, Quang Ninh has a good foundation to move towards this stage.

Sports tourism is a promising direction for development, contributing to product diversification, extending the season, and enhancing the tourism brand of Quang Ninh.

National trends, industry potential, and policy directions.

Sports tourism is no longer a local phenomenon. In recent years, many provinces and cities have entered the race to develop sports tourism with different approaches.

Da Nang and Khanh Hoa are focusing on triathlon, sailing, golf, and wellness events. Hanoi is developing urban running events. Lam Dong and Son La are promoting trail running and endurance sports linked to mountain ecology.

Ho Chi Minh City has developed a marathon market and promoted the movement widely. Hai Phong has invested in coastal tourism combined with sailing and boat racing. Each locality has chosen a different component of the value chain, creating a diverse and dynamic picture.

The Vietnamese sports tourism market is moving from its formative phase to a growth phase, driven by two factors: a rapidly expanding athlete community and an increasing proportion of spending in the experience economy.

Globally, sports tourism is projected by the United Nations Tourism Organization (UN Tourism) to grow at an average rate of 17.5% per year from 2023 to 2030. In contemporary tourism economics, sports tourism is classified as a value-added product, extending the season and increasing the rate of repeat visits.

The United Nations Tourism Organization (UN Tourism) predicts that sports tourism will grow at an average rate of 17.5% per year between 2023 and 2030.

This represents a significant shift from "consumer tourism" to "empowerment tourism," where tourists participate in activities rather than simply using services.

From an industry perspective, sport tourism is not a sub-sector of tourism, but rather lies between two systems: tourism and sports. Because it doesn't belong entirely to either, it requires an interdisciplinary coordination mechanism, something many countries have already established.

Japan has a Sport Agency, Singapore has a Sports Tourism Events Council, Seoul has an International Tournament Promotion Strategy, and many European cities consider marathons and triathlons as tools for urban economic development. Vietnam does not yet have a similar mechanism at the national level. This is something that needs to be considered when the market size is large enough.

A key point in policy design is viewing sports tourism as a mechanism for increasing tourism productivity, not just increasing the number of visitors. When considering productivity, the value created is not measured by the number of visits but by spending levels, length of stay, return rates, and participation in ancillary services.

Sport tourism has a distinct advantage in the supporting sectors because it draws in the participation of other industries.

Sport tourism has a distinct advantage in the supporting sectors because it attracts sports trade, medical services, nutrition, equipment, training, and community outreach. If properly organized, this industry can add a "layer of value" to domestic tourism, instead of continuing to rely on the already saturated and peaked model of beach resorts and heritage tours.

The period 2026-2030 is the opportune time for localities nationwide to develop a sports tourism market based on socialized models. The period 2030-2045 is for perfecting the institutional framework and internationalization.

Internationalization plays a crucial role, as the sport tourism market is inherently a cross-border market, tied more to international tournament schedules than to domestic holiday schedules.

For Vietnam to participate more deeply, it needs to connect running, golf, sailing, and swimming events to the continental and global systems. This requires safety, health, insurance, and organizational procedures to be internationally compatible.

From a national perspective, sport tourism also opens up opportunities to adjust the spatial structure of tourism. If this model is applied to the territory, it is possible to form "sports tourism corridors" such as Hanoi - Quang Ninh (beach, running, golf), Hanoi - Son La - Lao Cai (trail - trekking), Da Nang - Khanh Hoa - Phu Quoc (triathlon - sailing - wellness), Ho Chi Minh City - Lam Dong (marathon - cycling).

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When a corridor is established, market policies expand in clusters, rather than across individual provinces or cities. This is a method many countries use to redistribute tourist flows, reduce pressure on tourism infrastructure, and increase the economic efficiency of their territories.

In this context, Quang Ninh plays a significant role as a development hub among the dynamic localities in the industry. The province is at the forefront in many areas, especially in its capacity to organize large-scale tournaments, internationalize events, and integrate sport tourism into its year-round tourism strategy.

If other localities develop complementary components, the national sport tourism ecosystem will become more diverse and competitive when entering the regional market.

The rise of sports tourism in Quang Ninh and many other localities shows that Vietnam's tourism industry is entering a new phase of development, where value does not come from expanding space or increasing the number of destinations, but from the productivity of experiences, the quality of services, and the ability to organize the market.

For sport tourism to play its role as a strategic component of the tourism industry, national policy needs to shift from a "event-boosting" mindset to an "ecosystem design" mindset. This design lies not in the product itself, but in institutions, value chains, and inter-sectoral and inter-territorial coordination mechanisms.

During the period 2026-2030, the focus could be on forming a market based on socialization, expanding sports tourism corridors, and standardizing event criteria to increase connectivity between provinces and cities.

The period from 2030 to 2045 will be a phase of institutional development with higher requirements regarding international standards, organizational capacity, sports medicine, insurance, sponsorship mechanisms, broadcasting rights, and connections with regional and global tournament systems.

If properly planned, sport tourism will not only create a stream of high-quality tourists, reduce seasonality, and enhance the competitiveness of Vietnamese tourism, but also contribute to restructuring the tourism industry towards value creation and increased productivity, essential conditions for a sustainable economic sector in the vision for 2045.

Source: https://bvhttdl.gov.vn/du-lich-the-thao-va-vai-role-dan-dat-cua-quang-ninh-trong-he-sinh-thai-quoc-gia-20260113155039593.htm