There are many ways to attract tourists, of which organising sports and music events with the participation of famous domestic and international artists is one of the good ways. Thanks to its well-invested infrastructure system and increasingly diverse services, Da Nang has been emerging as the popular destination for major events.

With well-invested infrastructure, Da Nang is considered to have the great potential to host major music and sports events. IN PHOTO: Thousands of people attend the 2024 Barefoot Run. Photo: NHAT HA

In recent years, Da Nang has started to target the market of guests of major music and sports programmes. Some events in Da Nang have attracted thousands of attendees such as singer My Tam’s liveshow My Soul 1981 at the Ariyana Convention Centre Danang with more than 5,000 spectators; the 2024 Barefoot Run also at the Ariyana Convention Centre Danang with nearly 1,000 runners; the Da Nang International Marathon 2024 with more than 9,000 athletes; the VNExpress Marathon Da Nang Midnight 2024 with nearly 8,000 athletes; and the 8^th edition of VinFast IRONMAN 70.3 Vietnam 2024 with nearly 3,000 athletes.

To prepare for major events with the participation of thousands of people, the Ariyana Convention Centre Danang has renovated a 20,000m² space right next to the beach into one of the largest coastal outdoor event spaces in Viet Nam.

According to Mr. Le Dinh Nam, Deputy General Director of the Furama - Ariyana Danang International Tourism Complex, the renovation of the outdoor space to organise major music programmes such as the recent show of singer My Tam shows the great efforts of the enterprise. He expects that from the successful effects of the abovementioned events, Da Nang can continue to host many large-scale domestic and international events, contributing to maintaining its brand as Asia’s leading event and festival destination.

General Director of the Viet An Group JSC Nguyen Thanh Tam acknowledged that Da Nang has great potential to become an ideal destination for major music and sports events, attracting a large number of domestic and foreign tourists. The main reason is that Da Nang not only has a favourable geographical location, easy to connect with both ends of the country, but also has a highly developed tourism infrastructure. Additionally, the Da Nang International Airport can connect directly with many major cities in and outside the country, making it convenient for tourists to travel.

Moreover, the central coastal city has demonstrated its ability to organise major events over the years, such as the Da Nang International Fireworks Festival (DIFF) or international conferences. This shows that it has the capacity and experiences to organize large-scale music and sports events.

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Tam stressed the need for Da Nang to develop a long-term strategy with a focus on exploiting competitive advantages and creating unique and attractive tourism products in order to attract more major events in the near future.

He suggested the city continue to organise live shows or concerts by famous domestic and international artists because diversifying music genres will attract many different groups of people to the city. Also, the city should also proactively seek and call on major artistes to perform, and cooperate with artist management companies and prestigious event organisers to attract big names and create a strong attraction for tourists, he added.

The organisation of cultural, artistic and sports festivals not only lures more tourists to the city but also creates opportunities for them to experience and understand more about local culture.

“We should also increase promotion and communication for the festivals and events in the city by using multimedia channels such as social network sites, television, and tourism websites. Cooperating with celebrities and Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) at home and abroad is also an effective way to approach more tourists” Mr. Nguyen Thanh Tam proposed.

Mr. Nguyen Duc Quynh, Vice Chairman of the Da Nang Tourism Association cum Chairman of the city’s Hotel Association, said that Da Nang boasted a large and good accommodation infrastructure with about 1,297 accommodation establishments offering 46,035 rooms in total, which can meet the needs of a large number of visitors. Furthermore, the city is known as Asia’s leading event and festival destination, and famous for a developed MICE tourism industry.

The successful organisation of major national and international events such as the 2^nd Da Nang Asian Film Festival 2024, My Soul 1981 Liveshow, the 13^th ASEAN Schools Games in 2024, and the Barefoot Beach Run 2024, has greatly contributed to building Da Nang into an ideal destination for cultural, entertainment, physical education and sports activities in Viet Nam, thereby effectively promoting local tourism as well as approach more potential tourist markets.

Reporting by NHAT HA - Translating by M.DUNG