Ha Long City: More "leverage" to develop night-time economy

Exploiting the potential of the night economy well contributes to promoting tourists' shopping and spending, acting as a "lever" to attract 11.5 million tourists to Ha Long in 2025. However, the development of the city's night economy has not yet had a breakthrough.

4-5 star cruise ships take tourists to visit the heritage shore, a product that contributes to positioning the brand of Ha Long City.

According to assessments and statistics from tourism organizations around the world, heritage tourism is considered the fastest growing segment in the tourism industry. Heritage tourists often spend 60% more than usual (about 1,320 USD/trip, compared to an average of 820 USD/trip for general tourism). Heritage tourists also make more trips than the average of other forms of tourism (3.6 trips/year). According to UNESCO statistics, places with recognized world heritage sites attract more visitors, staying 2.5 times longer than other places with similar characteristics. Therefore, areas with world heritage sites have a great advantage in becoming a location for developing a night-time economic model.

Ha Long City is considered to have the most advantages in the province as a locality with great competitiveness in heritage tourism, with many spaces for tourists to visit, shop and enjoy nighttime entertainment. Taking advantage of these advantages, in recent times, Ha Long City has had many night-time products and services, including: Entertainment activities at Ocean Park - Ha Long; October 30 Square; large-scale amusement park Sunworld Ha Long; Vinpearl Ha Long resort; FLC Ha Long resort and golf course complex; Other special festivals such as: Ha Long International Music Festival, shows, street music, Ha Long Carnival, culinary festivals, chef and bartender competitions... Some 4-5 star cruise ships take tourists to visit the heritage coast and Ha Long City via the Sun Wheel, Bai Chay Bridge, Bai Tho Mountain... helping tourists experience the journey with luxury ships with unique culinary space, diverse Asian and European dishes or special seafood in Quang Ninh. In addition, tourists can experience the City tour by double-decker bus. In the city, there are also many licensed music venues, dance halls and some hotels with entertainment services and casinos serving foreigners, such as: Hoang Gia, Muong Thanh, Wyndham. It is expected that in June 2025, Tuan Chau Group will put the night street on both sides of Tuan Chau ferry port into operation.

However, in reality, night-time economic activities in Ha Long City mainly take place in the evening, from 6-12pm, many activities only take place until 10pm and some service businesses that use music and alcohol (karaoke, bars, dance clubs...) also only operate until midnight according to regulations. Late-night economic activities (from 0-6am) in the city are almost very few, mainly entertainment services in hotels, on night cruise ships on Ha Long Bay and late-night eateries.

Over the years, Ha Long Carnival has also become the city's outstanding music party.

Mr. Lucy Handley (British tourist) said: I am used to participating in night entertainment activities in my country. Therefore, I really hope that besides discovering the unique features of Ha Long Bay, I can also discover the interesting things of this city at night. But in fact, Ha Long still lacks many high-quality night entertainment services for foreign tourists to be willing to stay and spend money, such as: bars, art shows, casinos, races...

The fact that night-time economic activities have not been fully exploited is also considered a factor that has caused Ha Long City’s tourism revenue to be low. Currently, the city’s tourism revenue mainly comes from ticket sales to tourist attractions, hotel room rates, food and beverage services, shopping and entertainment, and a number of other ancillary services.

According to Dr. Tran Thi Thu Huong (Institute for Regional Sustainable Development Studies, Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences): Nowadays, the night-time economy has been and is still being focused on by many countries and is considered a new economic growth driver. To attract tourists as well as extend the time of tourists' activities until night, Quang Ninh province and Ha Long city need to research and call for investment from large corporations in developing new tourism products; standardize tourism human resource standards for subjects participating in the night-time economy; research, select and plan a number of areas and clusters of points for implementing night-time economic activities located at a distance from residential areas, ensuring that they do not affect the nightlife of surrounding residents. In particular, it is necessary to soon establish a specialized night-time management organization because night-time economic activities always have many potential risks, are prone to many negative activities, crimes, and security and order disturbances that affect social order. This is also a successful experience in cities with developed night-time economic activities.

Queen Russia

Source: https://baoquangninh.vn/them-don-bay-de-phat-trien-kinh-te-dem-3357769.html