Central coast hub to lure wedding couples

Wedding planners come to explore wedding market in Đà Nẵng City. The central city has launched wedding destination in attracting couples from the world to the beach hub in 2024-25. VNS Photo Công Thành

ĐÀ NẴNG — The central city has launched a pilot plan in turning it a favourite wedding destination to couples – the first of its kind in Việt Nam -- in 2024-25, creating a strategic attractive product for travellers after MICE and golf.

Vice director of the city’s tourism department, Nguyễn Thị Hoài An said at the Đà Nẵng Destination Wedding Conference, promising the city would be an ideal rendezvous for amazing wedding events and loving couples from big markets including Hà Nội, HCM City, Korea, China, Japan and India.

Visitors pose for a photo at the wedding exhibtion conference panel in Đà Nẵng City. The tourism hub had received 1.200 guests participating in four or five weddings from India in the first quarter of 2024. VNS Photo Công Thành

She said the wedding product expects to be a favourite option for married couples with brides and grooms are foreigners, or Oversea Vietnamese.

A wedding destination conference is organised in Đà Nẵng City in offering options for global wedding planners choosing the city as a favourite site for wedding parties. VNS Photo Công Thành

“Đà Nẵng is the first local in Việt Nam hosting the wedding service from global customers. We have been building the product on the base of potential tourism service and facilities as well as pristine beaches and easy traffic connections in the centre of world heritage sites in central Việt Nam,” she said.

“The plan was emerged from March after the city organised successful wedding conferences and events with the participation of 1,200 guests from India markets,” she said.

An said the city emphasized the service with slogan: Đà Nẵng-where happiness begins, in promoting the new product initiated at the tourism hub.

She added Đà Nẵng has been co-operating with global 20 wedding planners, KLOs, in launching the service to worldwide.

The city and the Capture Factoring from India would build a ‘reality show’ for dating couples in India choosing Đà Nẵng as lovely rendezvous from June 20 to July 13, she said.

Pristine white sand beaches of Đà Nẵng are favourite sites for hosting wedding parties for couples and friends from worldwide. VNS Photo Công Thành

Đà Nẵng, in co-operation with the Destination Wedding Planners Congress (DWP), widely renowned as the world's biggest B2B platform for destination wedding planners, hoteliers, tourism boards and creative partners, fashion designers plans to organise an exhibition on wedding service promotion and linking with tourism hub in Quảng Nam and Thừa Thiên Huế.

Lisa Viegas, director of DWP Congress, shared wedding destination trends in the world, stating that it’s a lucrative market with the worth of the global wedding industry valued at US$300 billion.

The share of the global destination wedding market is $90 billion, and it is expected to reach $105.92 billion in 2028, she said.

She said wedding market in the Asia-Pacific made a 40.52 per cent share to global wedding market in 2022, earning an annual growth of 16.48 per cent.

Việt Nam has emerged as an attractive destination in the region along with Indonesia, Thailand, Maldives and India, Lisa Viegas said.

“In keeping up with the trend said in the previous years, the year of 2024 will witness a continued emphasis on sustainable and eco-friendly weddings. Couples will be more mindful of their carbon footprint and will opt for eco-friendly choices in every aspect of their wedding, from invitations and decorations to food and favours,” she shared.

“This trend is not just about going paperless or using recycled materials. It also includes locally sourced and seasonal food, and pre-loved attires rock a vintage look with second-hand wedding gowns, suits, and accessories, that have a history and a charm,” she explained.

She said couples are embracing the future by incorporating cutting edge AI technologies into their big day.

“We will witness a growth in AI-generated and AI-aided designs in the upcoming years. Couples are opting to go digital using QR codes for digital invitations, seating plans, guest list, menu wedding programmes as well as opting audio or video guest books.”

Earlier this year, Đà Nẵng an Indian billionaire couple rented all 258 rooms at the Sheraton Grand Da Nang hotel to organise their wedding with 500 guests from India.

The city’s tourism department organised a promotion programme in New Deli and Gurugram, India, calling Air India, Vistara and IndiGo for more air routes launching between Đà Nẵng and India.

Five-star Furama resort Đà Nẵng had already prepared for hosting MICE and weddings for Indian tourists, while low-cost carrier Vietjet Air resumed seven new international routes from Đà Nẵng to Busan and the five largest cities in India – New Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, and Bangalore – together with Singapore.

The city expects to host 3 million in the next two years, with new direct air routes between Đà Nẵng and New Delhi.