Vietnam enters the world's 'billionaire wedding map'

Since the "most anticipated wedding of 2019" of an Indian billionaire at the JW Marriott Phu Quoc Hotel on March 8, 2019, over the past half decade, many destinations in Vietnam have gradually caught the eye of tycoons, opening up the potential to make Vietnam the most luxurious wedding venue in the world .

During the 3 days of February 16, 17 and 18, Vinpearl Resort and Spa Ha Long (Quang Ninh) became the focus of the media when it surpassed many strong candidates in the world to be chosen as the wedding venue of groom Vivek Dinodiya (Indian billionaire, Director of global import-export company PL Global Impex Pte Ltd) and bride Anmol Garg. This is the largest wedding ever held at Vinpearl Resort and Spa Ha Long with 600 guests and a service team of 500 people brought from India. Not only "huge" in scale and quantity, the "profile" of the guests in this super luxurious wedding is also one of the shocking factors when it gathers many Indian government officials, the Indian Embassy in Vietnam; businessmen, owners of large businesses in India and countries in the Southeast Asian region. Leaders of Quang Ninh Department of Tourism and Ha Long City leaders were also present, warmly welcomed, gave congratulatory gifts and did not forget to send the guests a message about the attractive, environmentally friendly, civilized and safe tourist city of Ha Long. After the ceremonies, this group of super VIP guests continued to visit Ha Long Bay and some famous relics and scenic spots in Ha Long City. The event made those working in tourism in the "black gold capital" emotional because exactly 1 year ago, in February 2023, an Indian billionaire couple also chose Ha Long as the place to hold their wedding on the 5-star yacht Ambassador Day Cruise II, with the participation of more than 400 guests. In less than a decade of transforming from brown to green economic development, Quang Ninh has not only "rapidly" risen to the position of the tourism capital of the North but is also gradually affirming its class in the international arena with the achievement of successfully organizing many international and regional events.

If Ha Long welcomed the new year with a million-dollar wedding, Indian billionaires also "broke ground" in Da Nang with an equally lavish wedding, taking place from January 19 to 21. After many surveys, the wedding of bride Kashmira and groom Inderdeep officially took place with nearly 500 guests, service staff and more than 1 ton of materials, costumes, and props transported from India to Da Nang to prepare for this wedding. Notably, the couple booked all 258 rooms at a 5-star hotel to serve guests. The Da Nang Department of Tourism said that this was the first Indian delegation to come to the city to hold a wedding this year. In the following months, it is expected that there will be 5 more wedding events of brides and grooms from India held in Da Nang, with a party scale of 200 - 350 guests for 3 - 5 days. In addition, the hotels also received dozens of wedding events from couples from Japan and several other countries. Immediately after that, from January 21 to 23, an Indian couple skipped many famous destinations such as Maldives and Phuket to choose Phu Quoc as the destination to hold a super-class wedding, with 350 guests all from the Indian elite. They booked the entire JW Marriott Phu Quoc Emerald Bay resort for many days and chose Sunset Town to hold their super wedding. The newly inaugurated Kiss of the Sea show stage, which is "driving crazy" the international media, was immediately chosen as the venue for the Baraat ceremony - the bride's procession. The groom in a colorful costume sat on a vintage car decorated with fresh flowers, dancing with the crowd of guests to vibrant music at the An Thoi train station square. Many dancers in glowing costumes performed at the couple's wedding. Sunset Town is a festive place filled with vibrant colors, energetic dances and traditional Indian music.

It is no coincidence that Vietnam has caught the eye of Indian tycoons. In the past, Indians often chose Bangkok (Thailand) as an "affordable" destination to hold their weddings. For middle-class families, they went to Middle Eastern countries, and for those with more money, they went to Italy. Each such wedding cost tens of millions of USD. It was not until 2019, when the former Vietnamese Ambassador to India, Mr. Pham Sanh Chau, determined to "pull" the wedding of the Indian billionaire couple, bride Kaabia Grewal and groom Rushang Shah to Phu Quoc ( Kien Giang ), that the Indian super-rich officially set their sights on Vietnam. The image of female billionaire Kaabia Grewal surprised and moved when welcoming representatives of Kien Giang province's leaders to attend and give souvenirs at the wedding is a guarantee of a complete success in the first super wedding held in Phu Quoc. After the wedding, groom Rushang Shah and bride Kaabia Grewal continued to stay in Phu Quoc for a few days to visit the pearl island.

According to Mr. Pham Sanh Chau at that time, Phu Quoc scored points thanks to its beautiful natural scenery. However, to satisfy hundreds of wealthy guests, beautiful nature alone was not enough. Mr. Chau said there were many difficulties. "They surveyed hundreds of locations in 30 countries, family members of the couple even visited the resort in Phu Quoc 6 times before making a decision. All requirements had to be met because they are super rich. They are willing to spend huge amounts of money to have the most classy and unique experiences, so they also demand the highest quality products. At that time, there was also a requirement they made that the government had not yet met: fireworks at the wedding party. The organizers contacted the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, but the Ministry said that according to regulations, fireworks are not allowed at wedding parties," the former Vietnamese Ambassador to India recounted. The unfulfilled requirements of the 2019 wedding were fully met at the wedding of the Indian billionaire couple that took place in Sunset Town on January 21-23. At the wedding of the special guests, the effects of fire, water, laser, and stage lighting combined with the decoration style imbued with Indian culture created a spectacular and magical scene. In particular, fireworks were performed twice during the main wedding ceremony to light up the night sky, marking a dreamlike wedding in Phu Quoc. To prepare for a perfect wedding, the bride and groom's families planned 6 months in advance and closely surveyed the location 3-4 times. Therefore, the preparation and logistics of the units must reach perfection.

The conditions for billionaires to entrust their gold to the important event of their lives are certainly not simple, but if they do accept their nod, the results are equally perfect. Mr. John Woolley, General Manager of JW Marriott Phu Quoc Emerald Bay, said that Indian tourists love the resort space because it "feels like home", and it also has beautiful outdoor spaces to hold traditional Indian wedding ceremonies. "The bride and groom's families rented the entire resort for the wedding, including the luxurious Turquoise suites, private villas with 1 and 3 bedrooms, and most notably, our 7-bedroom presidential villa Lamarck House," he said. The presidential villa Lamarck House costs up to 160 - 165 million VND/night depending on the time. So not only the accommodation "hit the jackpot", but also the airline, restaurant, and many other local services benefit greatly. For example, when the organizers hired two private jets to take a group of hundreds of guests of Indian billionaire Kaabia Grewal to Phu Quoc, the average ticket price per person was one and a half times more expensive than normal. They also found reputable hairdressers with a package price of 12,000 USD to do the guests' hair during the 3 main days of the event. Not to mention, most of the bride and groom's guests were super rich. They met, discussed textiles, hotel investment, super-big business ideas, looked for investment opportunities in Vietnam and there were many contracts signed right after such million-dollar weddings.

With the beautiful bridesmaids preparing to go ashore for the ceremony

Having close relationships with many tycoons in the world, billionaire Johnathan Hanh Nguyen (Chairman of the Inter-Pacific Group - IPPG) affirmed that when billionaires pay attention to a destination, they are not only willing to spend a lot of money to use the service but also very interested in finding investment opportunities, promoting the local economy. Therefore, if successful in attracting big customers, becoming a destination for organizing weddings or important events for billionaires, not only the tourism industry but also the Vietnamese economy will benefit greatly. According to the "king of luxury goods", Vietnam possesses many advantages and opportunities. We make a strong impression with our natural landscapes and cultural relics imbued with indigenous characteristics. World-class hotel brands are also flocking to Vietnam, raising the national tourism brand. For Indian tourists, Vietnam is also very close in culture, so they also hope to promote diplomatic and economic development with Vietnam through million-dollar weddings. Recently, the world's "culinary bible" Michelin Guide officially came to Vietnam and opened up a whole new future for Vietnamese cuisine. "But that's not enough. Before coming to Vietnam, Michelin went to Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia... We have beautiful beaches, but it's not certain that we can surpass Boracay in the Philippines or be as fun as Pattaya in Thailand. Or like Maldives, in addition to the picturesque nature, the "brands of brands" in the hotel industry such as Four Seasons, One&Only, Six Senses... are a guarantee that when you come to Maldives, you will enjoy the world's top-class services. Can we surpass them?", billionaire Johnathan Hanh Nguyen cited and emphasized that to put our name on the world's billionaire wedding map, Vietnam needs to pay special attention to consistency and focus.

Synchronization here means the level of all infrastructure and services. For example, Phu Quoc has 5-6 star resorts, but it cannot just "lock" guests in there. After they come to organize a wedding, they have to go out, shop, explore, and enjoy many experiences. And every service must be of the highest level. Not only businesses invest in products, but the state must also join hands to upgrade infrastructure and improve the local tourism environment. No billionaire can feel secure if the road to a resort is bumpy, narrow, or if the way out is "ripped off" or robbed. Or like Phu Quoc airport currently has only 1 runway for both international and domestic use, with a capacity of 4 million passengers/year, so how can it aim to become a resort paradise that gathers the world's tycoons? To achieve synchronization, Mr. Johnathan Hanh Nguyen proposed that there must be concentrated investment, avoiding dispersion. "It turns out that each year we only welcome 1-2 billionaires to hold weddings, which is not a large number. This is a super potential tourism product, but we must recognize that not every locality can become a high-class destination, welcoming luxury guests. There will only be a few destinations that have potential, with room to immediately spring up if they receive proper investment. In the context of limited tourism budgets, it is necessary to clearly identify priorities to focus on investing properly," the Chairman of IPPG emphasized.