Exciting SUP paddling on the sea in Da Nang.

In recent years, stand-up paddleboarding (SUP) has become a popular outdoor water sport , especially among young people visiting Da Nang. This activity has made Man Thai beach more vibrant and attractive to tourists, thanks to the colorful SUPs.

Tourists gather on the beach before paddleboarding during the recent April 30th holiday in 2024. Photo: Huy Tuan.

At 5 a.m., as the sun rises, Man Thai beach becomes a familiar destination for many adventurous tourists. Most are young people and foreign tourists from South Korea, the US, Australia, and other countries. Here, visitors are instructed on how to use SUPs to move across the sea and how to handle situations when being knocked into the water by waves. Having learned about SUP paddling in Da Nang through social media, Mr. Tran Van Quang (a tourist from Hanoi) wanted to participate. Therefore, during his trip to Da Nang, he chose to experience SUP paddling. Mr. Quang expressed: “This is a completely new experience and discovery, bringing very interesting feelings of being immersed in nature, in the clear, cool water; seeing and feeling better about the lives of the local people in the coastal area from early morning. I hope that SUP paddling will become a richer and more attractive beach tourism product.”

According to Mr. Nguyen Nhat Quang, a SUP (stand-up paddleboarding) instructor at Ri SUP, the number of SUP players is usually high on weekends, with an average of 30-40 guests each morning. Mr. Quang notes that some people already know how to paddle, while others don't, so before guests take their SUPs out to sea, they are instructed on proper usage and how to handle emergency situations. Even with an instructor accompanying them to the paddling area, all participants must wear life jackets to ensure safety.

As one of the pioneers in bringing SUP paddling to Da Nang beach, Mr. Pham Anh Viet, the investor of Man Thai beach, shared that previously, when SUP paddling was not yet widespread and there were few businesses, customers received quite thorough service. However, in the last two years, this activity has boomed and developed spontaneously, leading to infrastructure overload. For example, during the recent April 30th and May 1st holidays, there were days with nearly 600 SUPs and over 1,000 people on the beach. When overloaded, services are no longer as well-maintained, and poor customer service negatively impacts service quality. Therefore, Mr. Viet is moving towards registering the Man Thai SUP Cooperative, which will include businesses providing SUP rental services at Man Thai beach, with common regulations for SUP paddling to ensure safety for participants.

He hopes that stand-up paddleboarding (SUP) will become a unique and distinctive tourism product of Da Nang beach. Those providing SUP services should not simply rent out SUPs, but offer tourists thoughtful experiences and customer care, so that visitors will remember the experience, share it with friends and family, and return to Da Nang beach. “We hope the city will soon have regulations or specific guidelines to ensure that SUP activities meet quality standards, are safe for tourists, and create a healthy business environment for the service…”, Mr. Viet said.

Stand-up paddleboarding (SUP) is becoming an indispensable experience for tourists visiting Da Nang beach. Photo: THU HA

According to Tran Dai Nghia, Deputy Head of the Management Board of Son Tra Peninsula and Da Nang Tourist Beaches, stand-up paddleboarding (SUP) at Man Thai beach is a new sport that has recently been introduced to Vietnam. Recently, most people participating in SUP have been doing it spontaneously, without any regulations or guidelines to manage this sport.

To date, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has not issued specific guiding regulations. Therefore, to ensure safety for this activity, especially for SUP (stand-up paddleboarding) participants, the management board has implemented several temporary regulations such as: specific SUP operating hours according to each season, and strictly prohibiting SUP paddling in bad weather or rough seas; SUP businesses must assign one trainer to manage no more than 3 SUPs; require participants to wear life jackets and only paddle in designated areas; businesses must sign commitments, install buoys and anchors to demarcate SUP operating areas, and have lifeguards on duty in the SUP paddling area. The management board regularly deploys personnel and vehicles to patrol and remind participants and SUP businesses to ensure safety.

THU HA

Source: http://baodanang.vn/kinhte/202405/soi-dong-cheo-sup-tren-bien-da-nang-3971932/