Quang Ninh: "Driving force" for night economy

Night economy is one of the development orientations of Quang Ninh province to maximize the advantages of existing infrastructure and tourism. Not only does it promote shopping and spending of tourists, but it also opens up opportunities to position the Quang Ninh brand as the center of night economy in the region.

The music festival at Halong Marina Street Fest attracts many locals and tourists to enjoy.

Vibrant night economy

Walking in the bright lights, enjoying delicious street food, listening to live bands playing chill music, exploring diverse cultural activities... are extremely unique and new experiences for tourists at the Halong Marina Street Fest night walking street, Bai Chay ward.

Different from simple night markets, Halong Marina Street Fest is planned as an "open festival", with an international walking street style with many amenities and diverse experiences for all ages. Each week, there is a fresh, attractive theme and full of gifts for attendees. The festival space is divided into many unique areas, such as: 100 food stalls, more than 2,000m2 for children to play, daily golden hours at the shopping area, check-in with 3D paintings... From children, groups of young people to multi-generational families, everyone can easily find their own joy in this night street festival space.

Mathis Riepe (tourist from Germany) shared: I was very surprised by the vibrant festival atmosphere here. Not only that, I also enjoyed many traditional Vietnamese dishes and extremely fresh seafood from Quang Ninh. I participated in many games and music festivals, it was really impressive.

The spectacular fireworks displays in Ha Long attract many locals and tourists to experience.

After 3 days of opening (July 10-12), the Halong Marina Street Fest night walking street attracted over 12,000 visitors, promising to become an attractive destination, contributing to creating excitement and promoting the night economy in Quang Ninh. Mr. Doan Anh Vu, Marketing Director, BIM Group, said: Developing tourism products, especially night economic products, is one of the group's orientations to keep up with the trend of sustainable urban development. When putting the night street into operation, the Group will continue to work with partners, attracting more attractive booths and services to serve people and tourists. In the near future, the Group will research more new products, including a large-scale, spectacular water music show scheduled to launch next September.

Along with the BIM Group's night walking street, large corporations are also making efforts to invest in many night economic products in Quang Ninh. Ha Long Sun Company Limited (Sun Group) has organized an artistic fireworks display program at the beach area of Sun Carnival Square, Fireworks Bay. Fireworks are launched weekly at 9:30 p.m., from now until September 2, 2025. 1,000 fireworks each night with more than 50 special effects are performed to the background of bustling music, creating visually satisfying moments in the heart of the Heritage Bay.

Not only watching fireworks from the viewing points on the shore, visitors can choose a more special way to enjoy fireworks from a cruise with a sumptuous dinner right at Ha Long International Passenger Port or on the cruise ships. In addition, joining the fireworks viewing activities, the Vui-Fest night market opposite the fireworks area, with more than 30 stalls offering culinary experiences, souvenirs, drinks, refreshment stalls and interactive game areas will bring visitors extremely memorable experiences.

People experience Vui-Fest walking street

With the goal of creating entertainment spaces, attracting tourists, and promoting traditional culture, many walking streets have also been put into operation in some localities in the province, such as: Tran Phu walking street (Mong Cai 1 ward), Tien Yen walking street (Tien Yen commune), Minh Chau walking street, Sonasea Van Don night market in the premises of Wyndham Garden Sonasea Van Don Hotel of CEO Group (Van Don Special Zone)...

The walking streets operate from 6-12pm on weekends with many unique cultural and street art activities, such as: Street music performances, sketching, calligraphy, zumba dancing, modern dancing, booths displaying and introducing OCOP products, street food... serving the people and tourists. The walking streets not only create attractive products, build a civilized lifestyle in the locality but also contribute to promoting the traditional culture of Quang Ninh to a large number of tourists.

Aiming for high-class experiences

Early last June, the live performance show combining cuisine "Finding the pearl" was launched by Asia Luxury Cruise Corporation (APC Corporation) at Ngoc Rong Cave (or Bat Cave) in Vung Duc Relic and Scenic Area, Cam Pha Ward. The show applies multimedia technology combined with performing arts, culinary quintessence, and honoring local culture, which is a special highlight attracting tourists.

The highlight is the harmonious combination of advanced technology and natural beauty, creating eye-catching moments. The program applies modern multimedia technology, combining many types of performing arts with dance and circus, with the support of an advisory board of veteran artists of the Vietnamese art scene. Viewers have a multi-sensory experience, with many deep impressions of cultural and artistic depth.

The live show combined with cuisine "Finding the pearl" is a new, classy tourism product.

Mr. Ngo Phuoc Linh, Market Development Director, APC Group, shared: The unit wishes to bring a high-class tourism product, aiming to serve luxury tourists. At the same time, connect with the unit's existing tourism ecosystem such as cruise ships to create unique experiences for tourists. It is expected that the unit will be able to connect the product with other tours, routes, and attractions in the Vung Duc area, Duc Ong Tran Quoc Tang Temple, coastal routes, serving domestic and international tourists, especially tourists from the Northeast Asian market - where there is great interest in spiritual factors, natural wonders and legends associated with dragons - the sacred symbol of Asia.

Bringing culture into night economic products is one of the directions that units are interested in. In recent years, in Quang Ninh province, there have been hundreds of large and small music shows held in many locations from the forest to the hillside and the coast, such as: Thanh am ben Thong, music performances on cruise ships visiting Ha Long Bay... The programs also feature famous singers and artists, attracting many tourists to watch and experience tourism services at the destination. With efforts to develop, innovate and create, music nights help increase the night tourism experience, becoming a "magnet" attracting tourists to Quang Ninh.

Currently, the Quang Ninh tourism industry is receiving a strong "wave" of investment from large corporations and enterprises, especially in night-time economic products. The sea and islands are always the strength of the Quang Ninh tourism industry in the summer. However, the units do not passively receive visitors, but on the contrary, continue to explore, research and improve product quality, increasing the competitiveness of the destination itself. At Tuan Chau International Passenger Port, the Ha Long Tourist Boat Association put into operation the Night Cruise Street experience at the beginning of the peak tourist season. The Night Cruise Street operates from 5-11pm every day. From Tuan Chau International Passenger Port, tourists will experience the No. 8 tourist tour on Ha Long Bay announced by Quang Ninh province in 2024: Tuan Chau International Passenger Port - Ha Long International Passenger Port - Nam Cau Trang Port. With this cruise, tourists can explore the colorful Ha Long at night, admire famous landmarks and structures, and enjoy unique cultural, artistic and culinary spaces right on the cruise throughout the journey.

In fact, Quang Ninh has many advantages to develop the night-time economy when it owns a synchronously invested infrastructure system, the quality of services is constantly improved along with effective and modern investment and business improvement policies, attracting many large investors, with brands providing tourism and resort products and services in the area. In particular, Quang Ninh province has Ha Long Bay, one of the favorite destinations of many international tourists.

According to many experts, the night-time economy can account for up to 70% of tourism revenue. Therefore, developing the night-time economy helps to maximize the advantages of tourism, meet the trends and needs of tourists, help retain tourists longer and maximize profits for the tourism industry. "Opening up" the night-time economy is considered a "gold mine" of the tourism industry, contributing to promoting the economy, while also expecting to turn Quang Ninh into a modern service and industrial province by 2030. Because if the night-time economy in Quang Ninh is "lit up", each tourist only needs to increase spending by 300-400 USD for entertainment and shopping activities, then Quang Ninh's tourism revenue will increase significantly.

In order to fully exploit the potential and develop the night-time economy, the Provincial People's Committee approved the Pilot Project of the night-time economic development model in Quang Ninh province for the period 2023-2025 in September 2023 with the goal of exploiting the potential for night-time economic development to maximize new economic development opportunities, improve income and living standards of people. This is a great opportunity to promote night-time economic development in Quang Ninh.

Mr. Nguyen The Hue, Chairman of the Provincial Tourism Association, said: The exploitation and putting into operation of many night-time economic activities in the past time in localities in the province has shown its "attraction" to tourists, contributing to a significant increase in the number of visitors to Quang Ninh. Night tourism activities not only bring diverse experiences to tourists but also help optimize tourism infrastructure, increase the length of stay, increase spending of tourists at the destination, thereby contributing to increasing tourism revenue for the locality. In the coming time, the Association will continue to urge businesses and coordinate with localities in the province to put into operation more night-time economic models on the basis of ensuring conditions of security, order, safety and associated with promoting the traditional cultural values of Quang Ninh.

According to Quang Ninh newspaper

Source: https://bvhttdl.gov.vn/quang-ninh-luc-day-cho-kinh-te-dem-20250716143933301.htm