Developing music tourism in Quang Ninh

The combination of enjoying music with sightseeing and relaxation in Quang Ninh in recent times has yielded positive results. There, music is not only a form of entertainment but also plays a positive role in stimulating tourism.

The music scene is vibrant and captivating.

Music tourism is a form of tourism that combines visiting a location to attend concerts, music festivals, or experience musical heritage with exploring local culture, cuisine , and landscapes, creating a multi-layered travel experience. It includes attending large concerts/festivals or spontaneous musical events.

Tourists watch a musical performance on a cruise ship in Ha Long Bay.

Associate Professor Dr. Ta Quang Dong, Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, assessed: “ Quang Ninh is one of the localities with many advantages that not every province possesses. What impressed me most is the love of art and the very refined ability to appreciate art of the people of Quang Ninh. They not only receive music with emotion but also with pride and a deep cultural awareness.”

Over the past decade or so, a series of international music events have been held in Quang Ninh, such as the Asia-Europe New Music Festival, the "Melodies of Friendship" concert by the Russian National Guard Orchestra, and the Ha Long International Music Festival 2020. Major General and musician Nguyen Duc Trinh, Chairman of the Vietnam Musicians Association, stated: "International music events have created a professional music brand and added appeal to the tourist destination. This is also a favorable opportunity to introduce the land and people of Quang Ninh to international friends, and to bring contemporary music closer to the public and tourists, enriching the musical life of a region with enormous and attractive tourism potential."

Tourists come to watch singer Bang Kieu's live show in Tuan Chau ward.

In Quang Ninh, many other cultural, artistic, and musical events are organized, attracting the participation of international tourists, such as: Water puppetry at Tuan Chau International Cruise Port, Yen Duc rural village tourist area (Hoang Que ward), the annual Ha Long Carnival, the "Ha Long Fairytale" show, the tourism promotion show "Legend of the Heritage Region", and live shows by many famous domestic and international artists at several outdoor stages.

Recently, music programs combined with fireworks displays organized on modern cruise ships operating in Ha Long Bay have created considerable appeal for tourists. According to musician Nguyen Duc Trinh, visitors here not only enjoy music but also experience local cuisine and participate in live streaming from the cruise ship stage. This not only creates attraction for tourists but also contributes to the development of local tourism culture. Overall, possessing many beautiful natural landscapes and a rich and diverse culture with many unique folk songs, along with a vibrant urban life, has allowed Quang Ninh to combine music to create an attractive destination, helping to attract a large number of high-spending tourists.

Audiences immerse themselves in the musical melodies on the cruise ship.

The presence of numerous luxury cruise ships in Ha Long Bay affirms the pioneering role in raising service standards and expanding the capacity to serve a large number of tourists, extending their length of stay and increasing their spending, making a positive contribution to local economic growth, and demonstrating the professionalism and strategic vision of the domestic marine tourism industry.

Mr. Nguyen Quang Son, Deputy General Director of Asia Luxury Cruise Corporation (APC Corporation), said: “Travel companies are discussing and creating new tourism products so that Western tourists coming to Quang Ninh can go out to sea, spend the night on cruise ships, enjoy themselves in Bai Chay during the day, and watch music shows in the evening… We are also connecting and creating a difference between Ha Long and Bai Tu Long to extend the length of stay of tourists when coming to Quang Ninh by researching and changing the script of the “Searching for the Gem” show compared to before to better suit the landscape of the historical site.”

Developing the cultural industry through concerts.

In November, Quang Ninh consecutively organized two concerts: "Ha Long 2025 - The Spirit of Heritage, a Bright Future" and "Quang Ninh - The Heroic Mining Land". The success of these concerts has opened up a new direction for organizing cultural and tourism events in line with the development of the cultural industry.

The "Ha Long Concert 2025" was elaborately staged with over 1,000 performers and state-of-the-art performance technologies, including the K2 sound system and laser lighting and 3D mapping. Songs about the mining region were performed by renowned singers. Meritorious Artist Dang Duong stated: "Quang Ninh is the first locality to have built an art program of such scale, stature, and quality, comparable to national events. More importantly, the provincial leadership has correctly recognized the value of the cultural industry, considering it a new driving force for the development of tourism, the economy, and the promotion of the local image."

A series of popular songs were performed, igniting a shared rhythm, allowing art to become a thread connecting generations and conveying the national spirit. Singer Tung Duong said: “I felt empowered by the audience. Looking down at the stage, a dazzling ‘sea of ​​people,’ the shimmering lights of phones and lightsticks blending with the rhythm of the songs, I understood that music was connecting the hearts of Quang Ninh in a shared pride and emotion.”

Audiences enthusiastically immersed themselves in the music at the "Quang Ninh - Heroic Mining Land" concert.

The concerts have rekindled faith in large-scale, high-class art programs "made in Quang Ninh," opening up the development of the cultural industry. There, revolutionary and patriotic songs are revitalized, transforming music into a connecting language. People's Artist Quang Tho said: "I greatly appreciate the way the province organizes major art events, spreading the image of the people, culture, and tourism of Quang Ninh to friends both domestically and internationally. I believe that a land that knows how to honor the past through music will certainly go even further on its journey of sustainable development."

According to the assessment report of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the two concerts created a great attraction and lasting impact, achieving high effectiveness in terms of art, media, and social dissemination. Both programs attracted a total of over 61,000 live audience members and millions of views via television and social media, featuring elaborate stage design, sound, lighting, modern projection technology, and the participation of top V-pop stars.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said: The concert "Quang Ninh - Heroic Mining Land" is one of the events in Quang Ninh's series of tourism stimulus programs for the Autumn-Winter season. In the future, Quang Ninh will organize more unique cultural and artistic programs, not only to provide attractive spiritual experiences for the people but also to create momentum to stimulate tourism, gradually building a brand as a destination for large-scale, spectacular, and internationally-recognized events.

Music events in Quang Ninh generate excitement among young audiences.

According to Associate Professor Dr. Ta Quang Dong, Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the organization of the recent concerts demonstrates a visionary and groundbreaking mindset, and is also a concrete step in developing the cultural industry, a new pillar of sustainable growth. Quang Ninh's creative, systematic approaches, linking culture, tourism, and technology, are highly commendable and should be replicated.

However, to be able to replicate this model, it is necessary to further integrate culture with tourism in the development of music tourism in Quang Ninh. Associate Professor Dr. Vu Van Vien, Head of the Tourism Faculty, Ha Long University, said: “Essentially, music tourism is event tourism (MICE tourism), but if we want to separate it and build it into a distinct product, we must establish specific criteria for it. In this model, those attending concerts must be tourists who stay overnight, book accommodations, check in at destinations, shop, and enjoy local cuisine… Those attending concerts are customers, not just audience members. In general, all related activities are commercial in nature.”

Pham Hoc

Source: https://baoquangninh.vn/phat-trien-du-lich-am-nhac-o-quang-ninh-3388533.html