Taking place for more than a month from June 2 until July 8, the Da Nang International Fireworks Festival (DIFF) 2023 concluded in the evening of July 8 with distribution of the championship trophy to team France. The participating teams from the United Kingdom, Australia, Italy, Poland, Finland, France, Canada and Da Nang (Viet Nam) brought to the audience impressive and eye-catching performances during the 5 nights of DIFF 2023.

The French fireworks team shows the audience that they are worthy opponents of the DIFF 2023 trophy.

If you can see firsthand top-notch performances combined with music at the main stage and viewing stands, you will feel multiple, colourful pyrotechnic explosions painting Da Nang’s night sky with vivid colours. DIFF has been successfully organized in the city 11 times by the Da Nang Government since 2008. This international event is proving more attractive for locals and tourists at both home and abroad.

Data published by DIFF 2023’s organizers showed that the number of arrivals in tourist accommodation establishments during 4 nights of this year’s event in June reached nearly 240,000, of which close to 82,000 were foreigners and around 158,000 were domestic visitors. The occupancy rate in the city’s hotels reached about 70%. In particular, the occupancy rate in the 4-5 star hotels reached 80-85% while that in the 1-3 star hotels stood at about 50-55%.

The hotel occupancy rate in Da Nang during DIFF 2023 was higher compared to DIFF 2019 as that in the whole city reached about 65-70% while that in the 4-5 star hotels reached 75-85% during 2019’s event. Especially, an estimated 63,200 tourist arrivals were recorded in the final night of DIFF 2023, of whom, around 19,000 were foreigners and close to 44,200 were domestic visitors. The occupancy rate in the city’s hotels reached about 75% while all sightseeing boats were fully booked.

There was a significant increase in the number of visitors flocking Da Nang during the 5 nights of DIFF 2023 that pushed up the hotel occupancy rate in the city. However, the majority of the city’s hotels did not charge more for their rooms. Particularly, room prices of hotels in Han riverside where guests could get unobstructed fireworks view increased by 20-40% compared to normal days after getting approval from the municipal Department of Finance.

Furthermore, the city has taken effective measures to ensure the security and social order, traffic and food safety, along with environmental sanitation, and service price stabilization, as well as ensure access to health services among locals and tourists during DIFF 2023. As a result, no unexpected incidents were reported in the city. All of these factors have contributed to this year’s successful fireworks season after 3 years of absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The successful organization of DIFF 2023 were mainly attributed to great efforts of authorities at all levels, the city’s leaders and the companionship of businesses, thereby injecting new momentum into the city’s tourism sector to drive its recovery, contributing to making the city more inviting to both domestic and foreign tourists.

It is not by chance that Da Nang is known as fancy names such as ‘A fireworks city’. Fireworks Festival has helped Da Nang brand itself as an eventful city. Da Nang was recognized as Asia’s Leading Festival and Event Destination in 2022 by the World Travel Awards after it had beat eight rivals, namely Bangkok (Thailand), Beijing, Shanghai, Macau, Hong Kong (China), Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Seoul (South Korea) and Singapore to win the award. This is the second time Da Nang has received this prestigious title since 2016.

It started in 2008 and since then, DIFF has become a very much awaited event for locals, along with tourists at both home and abroad. In addition, this most-awaited event of Da Nang has become a symbol of the city. According to domestic tourism experts, the success of DIFF 2023 opened up new opportunities for the city’s tourism industry, and the city as whole. It is very necessary for Da Nang to invest more in DIFF with the adoption of more modern methodological approaches in a bid to name Da Nang, and Viet Nam at large, among the best places in the world to see fireworks.

DIFF 2023 is considered a "push" to help Da Nang bounce back to pre-COVID-19 levels recorded in the golden period of the city’s tourism. DIFF has contributed a significant part to Da Nang's tourism recovery in the first half of 2023. Generally, the number of arrivals in Da Nang’s tourist accommodation establishments in the first 6 months of the year reached more than 3.5 million, a 116.6% increase over the corresponding period in in 2022, of which, 930,000 were international arrivals, a rise of 11.3, while nearly 2.6 million were domestic arrivals, up 67.7%. Revenue of the accommodation and food services industry climbed by 39.1% to hit an estimated VND 10,618 billion. In detail, revenue of accommodation sector hit an estimated 4,227 billion VND, up 76.9% while that of the food and drinking sector reached VND 6,341 billion, up 21.5%.

This year’s impressive fireworks season has ended in Da Nang, and the city once again confirms its title as "Asia's leading festival and event destination". The Da Nang government, the city’s tourism industry, its business community and residents will join efforts to help their city thrive, make local residents happy, as well as create a civilized, harmonious and safe tourism environment for tourists, thereby helping the city named among the best places in Viet Nam, and the world as a whole, to visit.

Reported by THU HA – Translating by H.L