Developing the “heritage economy”: Quang Ninh chooses to innovate thinking and action

Recently, Quang Ninh is one of the localities that stands out with its efforts to become a destination with “no more tourist season,” blurring the boundaries between peak and off-peak seasons. Because there, the innovation of thinking of managers, businesses, professionals, etc. is gradually “escaping” documents and becoming concrete actions, bringing about practical results.

However, experts still point out many "gaps" that Quang Ninh tourism needs to fill if it wants to truly "take off" higher in the future.

Destination "one journey, two heritages"

At a recent tourism forum, Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Quang Ninh, Mr. Nguyen Viet Dung, affirmed that the locality identified “innovation of thinking” as the top command. To implement the determination, “Quang Ninh has changed its growth model, shifting from extensive development to prioritizing in-depth development, taking quality, efficiency, added value and tourist experience as the measure,” Mr. Dung emphasized.

As a result, by mid-November 2025, the total number of tourists to Quang Ninh had reached 21.28 million, an increase of 12% over the same period (completing early the target of welcoming over 21 million visitors for the whole year); tourism revenue reached at least VND 57,000 billion, an increase of 22.46% over the same period (the target of total tourism revenue this year is VND 58,000 billion).

The “telling numbers” show that the province has truly transformed from breadth to depth, focusing on high-spending and longer-stay visitors, in line with its growth policy and goals. With outstanding strengths in culture and history, industry leaders say they are creating a journey “from heritage to heritage.”

Notably, the locality will focus on promoting the "heritage economy" from the foundation of Ha Long Bay and the Yen Tu-Vinh Nghiem-Con Son and Kiep Bac Complex, which were recently recognized by UNESCO as World Cultural Heritage in mid-2025, along with more than 600 other relics and heritages...

Art performance at the opening ceremony of Canarval Ha Long 2025. (Photo: Duc Hieu/VNA)

In addition, not only preserving, Quang Ninh also proactively creates new values in the flow of cultural industry through resounding events such as the "case" of Ha Long Concert 2025 or Quang Ninh Concert - Heroic Mining Land... Those performing arts events have created an explosive media effect, becoming a tourism product attracting more than 30,000 direct participants and hundreds of thousands of online views.

Following this momentum, the locality also proposed hosting national and international events such as the International Puppetry Festival, the International Circus Festival, the 2026 International Film Festival, and a series of sports competitions...

These efforts are contributing to widely promoting “One journey, two heritages” to domestic and international tourists, while positioning Quang Ninh as a destination for international events.

Notably, not “missing the beat” with the trend of applying digitalization in the operation and management of tourism activities, the “mining land” is also leading the way in applying technology to ward-level tourism. For example, the “Bai Chay Smart Tourism Platform” with digital maps, VR360 experiences and AI virtual assistants supporting multiple languages. This model has the ability to create a seamless experience for tourists, while freeing traditional human resources from basic service steps.

Green tourism in Binh Lieu attracts visitors. (Photo: Xuan Mai/Vietnam+)

In Binh Lieu, a series of outstanding strategic actions include green tourism and AI application, operating the "Green Sail" eco-label, reducing plastic waste, and developing a sustainable community model.

How to make tourism "take off" higher?

Vice Chairwoman of the Quang Ninh Provincial People's Committee, Ms. Nguyen Thi Hanh, affirmed that Quang Ninh has all the natural, cultural and human resources to develop sustainable tourism. Not only possessing world natural heritages, world cultural heritages, relics and scenic spots, the locality also strongly develops spiritual tourism, resort tourism and ecological tourism with unique landscapes.

In addition, according to Ms. Nguyen Thi Hanh, the attraction of Quang Ninh is also due to the convenient transportation infrastructure system connecting both inside and outside the province, with Van Don International Airport, Ha Long International Passenger Port specializing in receiving international cruise ships; many famous international accommodation brands such as Accor, Intercontinental, Wyndham, Hyatt, Radisson...; 4 international standard golf courses and many planned golf courses under construction; unique tourism products such as overnight cruises, sightseeing cruises, restaurant cruises on Ha Long Bay; cultural experience tours of indigenous ethnic minorities...

However, experts say that although resource advantages have been promoted to create diverse and rich tourism products, the actual scale and quality of these products are still not optimally commensurate with the potential and outstanding advantages of the locality.

Overnight cruises on the bay are one of the unique tourism products of Ha Long Bay heritage. (Photo: Xuan Mai/Vietnam+)

“Quang Ninh's tourism products mainly focus on exploiting the advantages of existing resources, and are slow to innovate compared to market needs and trends; cultural, entertainment, and shopping products are still lacking and less attractive, and have not created many differentiated, high-quality products; there is a lack of regional and international-class products and services to serve high-end customers,” said Ms. Tran Thi Hong Trang (Institute of Tourism Development Research, National Tourism Administration).

According to experts, tourism can only develop on the basis of exploiting the values of tourism resources. Therefore, if Quang Ninh tourism wants to take off further in the coming time, one of the top priorities is to further strengthen the respect, prioritize the conservation and development of outstanding tourism resources in maintaining and perfecting existing tourism products, while at the same time building completely new types of products, high-class quality, bearing the unique identity of the locality.

“Only then can Quang Ninh truly become an international tourism center, a leading national tourist destination, in line with the goals and expectations of the Party Committees and authorities of Quang Ninh province,” said Ms. Hong Trang./.

Destination "one journey, two heritages"

How to make tourism "take off" higher?

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