The tourism story of the Maldives 

The island nation of Maldives is located in the Indian Ocean, with an area of ​​less than 300 square kilometres. Before Covid-19, the island nation welcomed nearly 2 million tourists every year, many of whom were famous around the world. More than 100 luxury resorts, as well as countless services, have been built on more than 1,200 large and small coral islands to meet the needs of tourists.

Maldives attracts tourists not only with its nature but also great tourism and resort products.

According to data from Michigan State University (USA), tourism contributes up to 28 per cent of the total domestic income of the Maldives. This is also the country with the highest economic contribution from tourism in the world.

However, few people realise that the Maldives did not have its first resort until 1972, and the most famous resort island in the world at that time still did not have a pier, tourists had to wade through the water up to their hips to reach the shore. With no banks, no airports, no telephones, and only communication by radio or Morse code, experts from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) also said that the Maldives cannot develop tourism because the material facilities and the infrastructure are inadequate.

Prior to the development of tourism, the "gods" who came here on the first day were not allowed to participate in kayaking sessions or take a speedboat to another island to have dinner under the starry sky. All experiences revolve solely around fishing and sunbathing.

Products, experiences, luxurious and classy resorts, and even restaurants on the bottom of the ocean have turned the Maldives from a deserted island nation without people to an island that every tourist in the world wishes to touch even once.

And the story of Da Nang

Looking at the development of Da Nang tourism today, few would have imagined that more than a decade ago, Da Nang was just a transit point for tourists on their way to discover two central heritages, Hue and Hoi An - Quang Nam.

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Da Nang has grown strongly by focusing on tourism development.

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The city with ravishing beaches, many historical sites and famous delicious dishes are not enough to keep tourists staying long and coming back many times. In the early 2000s, Da Nang tourism only welcomed less than half a million tourists.

Until the city redirected investment to tourism, inviting large investors to create new products, it seemed that another Da Nang appeared on the Han River.

In turn, world-class tourism projects and products were created. Sun Group has brought to this city Sun World Ba Na Hills - the world's leading theme park; a "collection" of high-class accommodation facilities such as InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort, Premier Village Danang Resort, Novotel Danang Premier Han River Hotel, Mercure Danang French Village Bana Hills, and so on, as well as Asia Park, the courtyard Ba Na Hills Golf Club golf. Other investors also contributed to Da Nang's luxury resort and entertainment infrastructure. Da Nang has grown from a "poor fishing village" on the Han River to a leading travel destination in the Central region, rich in experiences.

A series of attractive tourism products help Da Nang attract tourists. In the photo: Spring Festival show on top of Ba Na.

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According to the Da Nang Department of Tourism, the average length of stay growth is over 5 per cent per year in the 2013-2019 period. In 2019, the average length of stay for tourists was 2.68 days (2.9 days for international tourists and 2.35 days for domestic tourists). The average growth rate of tourists reached nearly 18 per cent - which is a dream rate for many destinations.

The city also constantly adding new and iconic tourism products to attract tourists to check-in, including the Golden Bridge on top of Ba Na, the Carp-Dragon Statue, the APEC Park, or Dragon Bridge, which spits water and fire every weekend. It is not an exaggeration to say that Da Nang is one of the destinations with the most diverse tourism product system in the country, satisfying the entertainment and experience needs of tourists of all ages, genders and religions, or nationality.

The revenue from tourism of Da Nang in 2018 reached VND24,000 billion, an increase of more than 34 times compared to 2007. The average expenditure per tourist to the Han River city also increased by 4.5 times. This certainly will not be possible if Da Nang still only did tourism by collecting fees to visit the sights or pulling tourists here just to swim on My Khe beach, enjoying specialties, visiting Non Nuoc stone carving village, Son Tra peninsula or going to the top of Ba Na to drink iced tea and eat boiled corn like in previous years.

Developing products to “open the wallets of tourists”

Dr. Nuno F. Ribeiro, Senior Deputy Manager of Tourism and Hospitality Management, RMIT University Vietnam, in a tourism seminar organised by Dau Tu Newspaper in March 2023 commented: "Most tourists are looking for an experience rather than just a trip. The richer the experience, the higher the quality, the more tourists want to return to explore and they will not hesitate to 'open their wallets'."

A series of unique tourism products gives tourists more reasons to "open their wallets" when coming to Sapa. Photo: Le Viet Khanh

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Let's take Sapa as an example. Before 2015, tourists to Sa Pa would run out of places to go after no more than 3 days.

The town in the mist then only attracted couples who wanted to have a quiet and romantic stay in homestays, or backpackers who wanted to find a bit of strange indigenous culture from the Northwest villages. On average, each tourist spent about VND800,000 when coming to Sa Pa in 2010. This number increased to VND2.9 million in 2019, when Sa Pa invited big investors like Sun Group, creating products and experiences that constantly attract tourists.

It is the cable car route that has achieved two world records, the Sun World Fansipan Legend cultural tourism complex, the longest Muong Hoa mountain train in Vietnam or the Hotel de la Coupole - Mgallery (the first international 5-star hotel in Sa Pa), along with many festivals and events with bold highland identity such as the art show "Dance on the Clouds", the race "Horses Hooves in the Clouds", the Northwest Trumpet Festival, the Azalea Festival, etc.

Mr. Ha Van Thang, Director of Lao Cai Department of Tourism, said: "This is a chain of products and works with a close connection, from magnificent spiritual works on the high mountains, cable car routes, mountain trains to the Hotel de la Coupole accommodation or cultural products are very classy, ​​recognised and loved by tourists. They are invested synchronously, creating special tourism products for Sapa."

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Van Don International Airport invested by Sun Group in Quang Ninh.

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Quang Ninh, another destination in the North, has "surpassed itself" by not dozing off the halo of World Heritage. In 2019, the total number of tourists to Quang Ninh reached over 14 million, an increase of 3 times compared to 2009. Revenue also increased by 10.5 times, reaching nearly VND29,500 billion. The above result is due to the fact that Quang Ninh tourism has truly change, with a synchronous air, water, and land transportation system as well as numerous high-end entertainment and resort projects. The participation in investment and creation of diverse and rich tourism products of large corporations such as Sun Group, Vingroup, etc., is the core factor that creates the resilience for Quang Ninh tourism.

Each destination will have different natural and cultural potentials, as well as history. But that is only the necessary factor. In the development of tourism, the sufficient factor for localities to take the last coin from tourists' pockets while still making them happy is "tourist products and services".