Making sports tourism staple product
With advantages in island and coastal terrain and increasingly complete infrastructure, Hai Phong is emerging as a destination that combines tourism with sports, attracting domestic and international visitors.
“Two-in-one” tourism
In just a few days, the VnExpress Marathon Hai Phong 2025 will take place in the city. To date, the race has recorded more than 14,000 registered runners, the highest number in the system and about 1.4 times higher than the most recent season.
Notably, the VnExpress Marathon Hai Phong 2025 course has been certified by the Association of International Marathons and Distance Races (AIMS), ensuring accuracy and enabling runners to pursue personal bests and use their results to qualify for major marathons.
In the cool weather of late December, the runners will experience tranquil scenery from the city center to the Do Son seaside resort, known for its harmonious natural landscape.
Beyond running events, over the past five years, Hai Phong has become an attractive golf tourism destination. According to the Hai Phong Golf Association, the city welcomes about 1,000 golfers on weekdays and 1,500 on weekends.
With multiple international-standard golf courses such as Sono Belle in Song Gia, BRG Ruby Tree in Do Son, Vinpearl Golf Hai Phong, Dragon Golf Links (Do Son), and Chi Linh Golf Course, Hai Phong has become a top choice for many domestic and international golfers, especially visitors from countries with harsh winters unsuitable for golf.
Alongside this, a series of domestic and international golf tournaments featuring hundreds of golfers has helped position Hai Phong as an ideal golf tourism destination.
Each year, Hai Phong also hosts numerous national and international sporting events, including rowing, shooting, dancesport, badminton, chess, billiards and snooker, attracting thousands of athletes and their relatives, contributing significantly to the development of sports tourism in the port city.
Turning sports tourism into staple product
According to Mai Xuan Thang, Chairman of the Hai Phong Tourism Association, sports tourism is considered a sustainable tourism product, aligned with trends that combine travel with health improvement, closeness to nature and environmental friendliness.
With the advantage of hosting two world heritage sites, Hai Phong is increasingly attracting domestic and international visitors who combine travel with sports activities. “Unique cultural features, diverse cuisine and favorable climate conditions allow sports activities to take place year-round in Hai Phong,” said Mai Xuan Thang.
Based on the positive contribution of sports tourism to attracting visitors, the city has set a broader goal of making sports tourism a staple tourism product in the coming period.
Under the master plan for tourism development in Hai Phong to 2025, with orientation to 2030, the city will develop integrated and specialized sports tourism areas, including marathon running in Do Son and Cat Ba; cycling, off-road motorcycling, and indoor and outdoor rock climbing in Thuy Nguyen to capitalize on natural limestone terrain; water sports in the Hai Phong rowing training area; and maximum facilitation for golf course investment projects.
The city will soon complete the announcement of designated zones for water-based recreational activities at several locations in bays within the Cat Ba archipelago.
This presents significant opportunities for businesses to invest in and operate water sports such as kayaking, boat racing and adventure climbing, creating more attractive sports tourism products, enhancing experiences and extending visitor stays, especially for international tourists to Hai Phong.
NGUYEN CUONG