Sports "give wings" to year-round tourism in Quang Ninh.

Besides experiencing the local scenery and culture, more and more tourists are enjoying visiting Quang Ninh through the vibrant sporting events organized in the mining region. The travel guidebooks for tourists and athletes are no longer limited to Ha Long Bay, Yen Tu, or Binh Lieu, but are increasingly expanding and covering a wider area thanks to the continuous sporting events held throughout all four seasons. This is also a reason to encourage more tourists to return to Quang Ninh.

A new experiential space from the "hot" tournaments.

In early December 2025, Na Ech Stadium (Binh Lieu commune) became the center of attention when the Quang Ninh Province Women's Ethnic Minority Football Tournament - VTV5 Cup took place. The tournament, held from December 3rd to 7th, brought together 8 teams with nearly 130 players from the Tay, Dao, San Chi, and San Diu ethnic groups from within and outside the province.

The 2025 Quang Ninh Women's Ethnic Minority Football Tournament has left a good impression on tourists and friends from near and far.

Images of female players in traditional attire competing in the border valley created a beauty that was both strong and graceful, causing the tournament to quickly spread on social media with nearly a million views. The enthusiastic cheering of locals and tourists, along with the unique natural scenery, transformed the event into a highlight of the winter season, contributing to attracting tourists to Binh Lieu.

Alongside this, the 2025 Ha Long Bay Heritage International Marathon, held on November 23rd as part of the events from November 21st to 23rd, attracted nearly 15,000 athletes, with over 3,200 participants from 70 countries and territories. The race course, meeting World Athletics Label standards, offered distances of 5km, 10km, 21km, and 42km, taking runners along a route that embraced the scenic landscape of the heritage bay. Many athletes likened the journey to running through limestone formations rising from the sea, a scene both majestic and picturesque.

Just a few months earlier, the VnExpress Marathon Ha Long 2025, held on June 1st, also attracted tens of thousands of participants. The flat, wide, and beautiful coastal course ensures a large number of registrations every year. During peak season, accommodation in Bai Chay and Hon Gai often reaches full occupancy, creating a vibrant atmosphere that spreads throughout the city.

From the coast back to the sacred mountains, the Yen Tu Ultra Trail Race 2025 took place over two days, September 5th and 6th, with more than a thousand athletes participating in the 5km, 15km, 25km, and 50km distances. The trail route took athletes through bamboo forests, the Giai Oan stream, Hoa Yen pagoda, and then along stone steps to Dong pagoda, creating a journey that combined spirituality , sports , and nature exploration. Yen Tu, therefore, is not only a pilgrimage destination but also a unique sporting space, suitable for the rapidly growing trend of health tourism worldwide.

International athletes participated in the 2025 Ha Long Bay Heritage International Marathon. The event attracted a large number of participants, with over 14,000 athletes taking part.

In the eastern part of the province, the Cai Chien Culture and Tourism Week 2025, held at the end of May, transformed the pristine island into a vibrant playground with activities such as beach running, kayaking, beach volleyball, and boat racing. The youthful and energetic atmosphere attracted a large number of tourists, especially young people and families seeking a holiday combined with light exercise.

For the business community, the Vietnam Young Entrepreneurs Pickleball Tournament 2025, held from September 19th to 21st in Ha Long, created a new highlight. This rapidly developing sport was organized on a system of standard courts located right on the bay, creating an experience that blended competition, relaxation, and community networking.

These consecutive events have formed a continuous flow of sports throughout the four seasons. Spring is vibrant with mountain climbing activities; summer explodes with large-scale running races and water sports; autumn is highlighted by trail running at Yen Tu and the Pickleball race for entrepreneurs; and winter is brilliant with ethnic women's football and highland cultural and sports festivals.

The stunning scenery, majestic grandeur, and heritage beauty of Yen Tu completely captivated the athletes and tourists who participated in the recent Yen Tu Ultra Trail 2025 race.

According to preliminary statistics, Quang Ninh annually organizes approximately 40-50 provincial and national-level sports competitions and events that attract many athletes and participants. In 2025 alone, Quang Ninh is expected to host around 12 major sporting events such as marathons, triathlons, and pickleball competitions, attracting over 90,000 athletes, spectators, and tourists. As a result, sports have become a new "soft resource" that complements the existing tourism landscape and infrastructure.

"Catalysts" to boost tourism

The combination of sports and tourism in Quang Ninh is creating a synergistic development ecosystem. Mr. Nguyen Thanh Tung, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, assessed: Participants in tournaments not only compete but often come with family or groups of friends, leading to increased demand for accommodation, food, sightseeing, and experiences. On average, each athlete attending a tournament is usually accompanied by one or two people, contributing to a larger number of actual visitors.

According to statistics, in the first 11 months of 2025, Quang Ninh province welcomed over 19.8 million tourists, a 10% increase compared to the same period in 2024. Total tourism revenue reached approximately 52,600 billion VND, a 21% increase compared to the same period in 2024. It can be seen that, in addition to post-pandemic recovery and stimulus policies, the influx of tourists from large-scale sporting events has significantly contributed to this growth.

Quang Ninh has favorable cultural and sports infrastructure and harmonious natural landscapes, making it a good resource for sporting events that attract athletes and tourists from all over the world.

Beyond generating service revenue, these events also create a significant media impact, with hundreds of thousands of images and videos shared on social media. Moments like athletes running across the Bai Chay Bridge at dawn, navigating through the mists of Yen Tu, or ethnic minority female footballers competing in the rain on the Na Ech field all become compelling and natural promotional materials.

Quang Ninh's infrastructure is also well-suited to hosting large-scale events. A 5,000-seat multi-purpose arena, the Cam Pha stadium meeting national competition standards, a system of golf courses, marinas, and a comprehensive transportation network connecting Ha Long, Van Don, and Mong Cai create favorable conditions for organizing various types of tournaments. This allows the province to diversify its tourism products by combining sports, exploration, and relaxation.

At the same time, sporting events open up opportunities to develop many new tourism products: tours combining competition and relaxation, "running bib + hotel room" combos, tours exploring Binh Lieu after the women's football final, "meditation - trail running" tours in Yen Tu... Travel businesses compete to create products, extending the average length of stay for tourists from 1.5 days to 2.5 - 3 days.

However, for sports to truly become a sustainable driving force for year-round tourism, Quang Ninh also needs to continue addressing the challenges of managing tourist capacity, protecting the environment, and improving the quality of organization and services. Tournaments need to be more synchronized in terms of logistics, communication, and experiential design so that each event is not only beautiful during the competition but also beautiful throughout the tourist's journey – from arrival and stay to exploration and return.

Tourists visit Dong Pagoda in Yen Tu after participating in the Yen Tu Heritage 2024 race.

Looking at the overall picture, it's clear that sports are gradually becoming the "red thread" connecting the seasons, filling seasonal gaps, adding new experiences for tourists, and most importantly, helping Quang Ninh create a distinct identity compared to other purely beach destinations.

Clearly, Quang Ninh is on the right track by leveraging its natural advantages, infrastructure, and culture to transform sports into a catalyst for tourism. As a result, Quang Ninh now not only boasts "summer beach" tourism but also a vibrant "tourism - experience - activity - exploration" model, attracting visitors year-round, diversifying products, expanding international markets, and especially building a new image of Quang Ninh as dynamic, modern, friendly, and very "sporty." And as Mr. Nguyen Thanh Tung shared: Sports are not just about competition, but an opportunity for Quang Ninh to promote itself, for tourists to experience, and for the sustainable development of its tourism economy.

Ha Phong

Source: https://baoquangninh.vn/the-thao-chap-canh-du-lich-4-mua-quang-ninh-3388161.html