The bustling Tan Thanh beach festival

Athletes compete on the track at a charity fundraising festival. Photo: QT

From early morning, the Tan Thanh beach sports and music festival (Cam An ward, Hoi An city) was bustling with activity on the running track, with hundreds of children, including many foreign children studying in Hoi An city, participating.

The young "athletes," depending on their age, enthusiastically completed the 300m to 1km race with the support of their parents and volunteers.

Besides socializing and improving health, the greatest benefit of this activity is that all the money raised from purchasing race "bibs" (for both children's and adult distances) will be donated to charity to support hearing-impaired youth; the more races run, the more money will be raised.

The charity fundraising run was the highlight of the Tan Thanh Beach Sports and Music Festival. Photo: QT

Mr. Le Quoc Viet, representative of Tan Thanh Fishing Village Tourism Cooperative, said that the event aims to enhance interaction and experience for tourists in most activities.

Besides running sports, tourists are also the main participants in experiencing activities such as pulling fishing nets, building sandcastles, painting, breaking clay pots, and participating in street music to fully enjoy the festival atmosphere.

At Tan Thanh Market, in addition to stalls showcasing local characteristics and eco-friendly practices, this year's festival also features six villages and eco-tourism and community tourism destinations from the highlands of Central Vietnam. These include Rum Ho village (Quang Binh); Chenh Venh (Quang Tri); A Roang, A Nor, Ban Doi (Thua Thien Hue), and Dai Binh (Quang Nam).

These destinations are receiving support from international organizations to develop sustainable livelihoods, with a focus on integrating them with tourism.

People from A Roàng village (A Lưới district, Thừa Thiên Huế province) bring their produce to participate in the festival. Photo: Q.T. — People from A Roàng village (A Lưới district, Thừa Thiên Huế province) bring their produce to participate in the festival. Photo: QT

These community-based tourism villages are mostly in the process of developing and perfecting their products and tours to attract tourists, so festivals are a good opportunity for stakeholders to exchange and learn from each other's development models to increase the attractiveness and brand of the destination.

Ms. A Lang Thi Be, Director of the Ban Doi Village Community Tourism Cooperative (Nam Dong District, Thua Thien Hue Province), said: "The cooperative has participated in many events and fairs in the region, but mainly in trade and services."

This is our first time visiting Hoi An and participating in such a vibrant tourism event, so this is a valuable opportunity for us to promote our products and, most importantly, to learn from the tourism development experiences of other organizations as well as from the tourists participating in the festival.”

Despite being organized on a small scale and for a short period, the Tan Thanh Beach Sports and Music Festival created a positive effect in connecting tourists and the community; promoting connections between the international and local communities, and further spreading the creative culture in Hoi An City, which is aiming to become a global creative city.

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