Potential for development of music tourism 

Nha Trang City has become a popular venue for music shows of many famous artists. Especially, in recent years, many big music events held in Nha Trang featuring famous stars have attracted a large number of audience, including many tourists.

Tung Duong performing at Ever Glamour Nha Trang Festival 2024

On the opening ceremony of the Ever Glamour Nha Trang Festival 2024, besides waiting for the drone performance of the two teams from South Korea and China, tens of thousands of people and tourists were also excited about the performances of singers Tung Duong and Phuong Ly. Phuong Ly is a young singer with many songs that have been popular among young people. Her appearance on stage together with big the cheers from young audience made the already vibrant atmosphere of the program more exciting. Meanwhile, the appearance of singer Tung Duong with the song namely "phoenix wings", which was released in mid-June and went viral on many social media sites, was like a gift to audiences in Nha Trang. “For nearly the past month, I have heard Tung Duong’s "phoenix wings", a very meaningful song about women, on YouTube many times, and I really wanted to see his live performance. I am glad that during my trip to Nha Trang this time, I could see the drone show and Tung Duong singing this hit live”, said Luu Thanh Ngan, a tourist from Ninh Binh Province.

In just 3 months, Tung Duong has performed twice in Nha Trang. At the 1st international jazz program - Nha Trang 2024 taking place at the end of April and the beginning of May, Tung Duong also brought excited moments to the audience with the songs that contributed to his reputation but in jazz style. The music program also had appearance of Vietnam’s famous singers and musicians such as singer Thu Minh and Phuong Vy, musician Nguyen Hai Phong, artist Tran Manh Tuan; the world’s famous jazz artists Chico Freeman and his band from the US and artist Amanda Lee and her band from Singapore. At the Nha Trang Sea Tourism Festival 2024 held in Nha Trang last June, young singers Van Mai Huong and Tang Duy Tan performed their famous songs in the coastal city.

The aforementioned music activities of Vietnamese and international singers and other artists partly show he potential for music tourism in Nha Trang City. Nha Trang has been striving to build its brand as a city of events including music events with the participation of many favorite artists. This is a foundation for the Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism to deploy the potential more effectively.

 Recently, the phrase “cultural industries” has been mentioned frequently. Among many promising spheres of culture and the arts to progress cultural industries, music has emerged as a pioneering one. Music events with the participation of famous domestic and international artists not only bring in revenue from ticket sales but also attract music tourists to the host country or locality. The concert of K-pop girl group Blackpink in Hanoi on July 29 and 30, 2023 received an audience of 170,000, including a large number of fans from Southeast Asian countries and even South Korean, the home country of Blackpink. Many people spent a lot of money to travel to Singapore to see the show of Taylor Swift last March. The 8wonder International Music Festival in Vinpearl Nha Trang in July 2023 featuring the global superstar Charlie Puth created a surge in the number of searches for accommodation in Nha Trang on Agoda travel platform.

Many experts in the sphere of culture and tourism see music tourism as a "gold mine" that Vietnam can exploit to develop the cultural industries. Besides Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, other localities such as Da Nang, Phu Quoc and Nha Trang have emerged with much potential. In order for Nha Trang to effectively exploit its music tourism potential and strength, besides big domestic and international music events with the participation of famous artists,  a healthy cultural and tourist environment is an essential element to  attract and impress famous artists. A good impression can help to promote the images of the host locality to more music fans as well as people around the world through positive reviews of the artists. A high-quality cooperation with leading, professional event organizers and good tourism products for music tourists   are also the elements to draw tourists to Nha Trang and make them stay longer in the city. 

Giang Dinh
Translated by H.N