Since the beginning of the year, Quang Ninh tourism has continued to make its mark by organizing a series of large-scale cultural, sports and tourism activities. Not limited to seasonal events, the coordinated program series has created widespread ripple effects, attracting large numbers of domestic and international visitors and contributing to impressive growth for the tourism industry from the very first months of the year.
In just the first four months of the year, the province successfully organized 140 tourism demand-stimulation, promotion and marketing events and activities, including 10 national- and provincial-level events and 130 programs in communes, wards and special administrative zones. Notably, Quang Ninh is no longer developing events individually, but is gradually building an ecosystem of tourism, culture and entertainment associated with modern performance technology and the night-time economy. The province is also the first locality in the country to implement a series of large-scale events based on the coordinated integration of the cultural industry, experiential tourism and commercial and service activities. This has created powerful ripple effects, promoting the destination's image while stimulating consumption and growth in the service economy.
A highlight of the early-year activity series was the Yen Tu Spring Festival 2026, the first festival season after Yen Tu was honored by UNESCO as a World Cultural Heritage Site. This was not only a major spiritual event for the entire country, but also an important milestone in the journey to turn heritage values into a driving force for sustainable tourism development. The opening ceremony was held on 26/2, attended by more than 5,000 delegates, monks, nuns, Buddhists, local people and visitors. Alongside traditional ceremonies, the Yen Tu Spring Festival 2026 also made its mark with a series of the largest-scale activities ever held, including the special art program “Sacred Yen Tu Mountains - The Spirit of a Thousand Years,” featuring 10,000 people; fairs, exhibitions, cultural display spaces, OCOP products and more. These activities helped spread the value of the heritage while enriching visitors' experiences.
One of the factors creating the powerful appeal of this year's festival season was the province's decisive demand-stimulation policy. Free admission, electric shuttle services and parking during Yen Tu Tourism Year created positive effects, helping visitor numbers surge. In just the first four months of the year, Yen Tu welcomed more than 1 million visitors, more than doubling the figure from the same period in 2025 and reaching the full-year 2026 target ahead of schedule. Revenue from the Yen Tu Spring Festival was estimated at around VND 2,500 billion—a figure demonstrating the powerful reach of cultural and spiritual tourism when invested in the right direction.
As the peak summer tourism season began, Quang Ninh organized the 2026 Welcome Summer Cultural, Sports and Tourism Week—an event demonstrating the province's strong transformation in developing event tourism, entertainment and the night-time economy. Since the end of March, the welcome-summer activity series has generated significant media exposure, with hundreds of news reports and articles in central and local media; 80 million views and interactions on digital platforms; and more than 4 million views on VTV alone. The appeal of Quang Ninh Province's 2026 Welcome Summer Cultural, Sports and Tourism Week generated impressive tourism revenue, estimated at VND 4,165 billion.
The most prominent highlight was the opening art program of Carnaval Ha Long 2026, themed “The Wonders Illuminate a New Era.” More than simply a street festival, this year's carnival was considered one of the largest and most impressive ever held. The combination of traditional art and modern performance technology, and of heritage spaces with light and music, demonstrated Quang Ninh's new thinking in developing experiential tourism products.
Beyond the major art programs, many accompanying activities also recorded positive results. Ha Long International Food Street, with its “54 food carriages” concept, attracted approximately 42,000 visitors and generated an estimated VND 5 billion in revenue. The Quang Ninh OCOP Fair - Summer 2026, featuring 240 booths and showcasing more than 1,200 signature products from Quang Ninh and localities across the country, also attracted more than 58,000 visitors and generated over VND 22 billion in revenue.
Alongside programs organized by the province, many tourism and service businesses also proactively invested in large-scale entertainment activities, such as Vuifest Commercial Street, the “Red Sails” fireworks show, the Halo Bay show and street art performances. These activities have helped form a diverse experiential ecosystem, increasing the appeal of night-time tourism.
The effectiveness of the event series has been clearly reflected in tourism growth indicators. Since the beginning of the year, Quang Ninh has welcomed approximately 8.2 million visitors, up 8% from the same period in 2025; total tourism revenue reached VND 21,639 billion, up 18% year on year. During the Hung Kings' Commemoration Day and 30/4-1/5 holiday period alone, the province welcomed more than 1.3 million visitors, with tourism revenue reaching VND 4,165 billion, up 33% from the same period in 2025. Room occupancy at accommodation establishments from 25/4 to 2/5 reached 90-95%, demonstrating the heat of the summer tourism market.
According to Mr. Nguyen Viet Dung, Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Quang Ninh will continue to promote the value of the Yen Tu World Cultural Heritage Site in association with the development of cultural, spiritual, ecological and experiential tourism, while improving the quality of cultural, sports and tourism activities in a professional, modern manner with a distinctive identity. The province is also focusing on developing signature products associated with Carnaval Ha Long, Ha Long Bay, Yen Tu, cuisine, OCOP and street art; encouraging localities and businesses to develop more high-quality entertainment products to promote the night-time economy and the cultural industry...
