Along with hosting annual professional sporting events such as Ironman, international rowing, international beach wrestling, golf, etc., Da Nang is being seen as a "destination" for major world sporting events combined with tourism activities, a particularly developing trend in many coastal cities in Asia.
Vietnam possesses a significant natural advantage in the trend of adventure sports and exploratory tourism, but not many localities have transformed this into an economic advantage. Previously, beach sports were almost completely separated from the tourism industry, being exploited only from a technical and competitive perspective, without developing a complete ecosystem to generate revenue from tourism and regional trade. This resulted in a loss of the potential to contribute to and develop the sports economy. Meanwhile, in Southeast Asia, the sports sectors of Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines have effectively exploited this field, with increasingly active participation in Asian and world beach sports events.
Da Nang is catching up with that trend, with a well-structured strategy. From the very beginning of the project "Developing High-Performance Sports and the Sports Economy of Da Nang City in the period 2025-2030, with a vision to 2045," marine sports have been identified as a key focus. The goal is very clear: to make Da Nang a leading marine sports service and economic center in Asia; to build a modern sports- tourism -creative industry ecosystem; and to strive to attract 10-12 million tourists annually, with 20-25% coming from sporting events. With this strategy, the city has proactively proposed hosting the 9th Asian Beach Games (ABG) in 2030, following the success of its first hosting in 2016. This is a strategically sound approach.
The recent successful Ironman race in Da Nang provides us with some noteworthy figures. What makes the Ironman race a special phenomenon is its target audience: high-end customers willing to pay between $3,000 and $5,000 for a trip combining competition and relaxation. Each year, the race attracts approximately 1,500-2,000 international athletes, along with a large number of family and friends. The total revenue from sports tourism alone could reach millions of dollars. This doesn't even include the media effect: images of Da Nang, with its My Khe beach, Dragon Bridge, Golden Bridge, etc., appear frequently on international sports television channels, becoming invaluable free advertising footage. These are all fundamental elements of sports economics.
In fact, the development trend of world sports is becoming more genuinely linked to commercial activities and generating revenue for the local economy. The world is shifting from investing in grandiose infrastructure to a model of exploiting economic benefits and increasing commercial value to persuade international organizations in the race to host major sporting events. A prime example is the upcoming 2026 World Cup finals in the US, Canada, and Mexico, which will largely take place in existing stadiums that are upgraded and expanded in terms of space, optimized with technology, and prioritize enhancing the fan experience both inside and outside the stadiums.
While the concept of sports economics remains relatively unfamiliar in universities and in the development plans of many localities, Da Nang's approach can be considered a breakthrough. From there, Vietnam's sports and tourism sector will become more proactive in recognizing sporting events as profitable investments, thus boosting the development of the sports economy in the near future.
Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/the-thao-tao-don-bay-kinh-te-post855110.html
![[Photo] Admire the coral "masterpiece" amidst the million-year-old heritage of Dak Lak province.](https://vphoto.vietnam.vn/thumb/1200x675/vietnam/resource/IMAGE/2026/05/30/1780107638639_y25-jpg.webp)
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