Revamping festivals to boost tourism appeal
Hai Phong is entering a vibrant year-end season of festivals and cultural events, helping extend the tourism season, stimulate consumer spending and boost service revenues.
Beyond enriching cultural life, the year-end festivals are expected to contribute to service revenues, creating additional room for the city to achieve its target of annual GRDP growth of at least 13% under Resolution No. 11-NQ/TU of the Hai Phong Party Committee.
Revamping festivals to extend tourism appeal
Preparations for the Con Son - Kiep Bac autumn Festival 2026 are in full swing, with organizers working to complete the final arrangements. A key new feature this year is the combination of traditional rituals with a range of cultural, tourism, trade promotion and experiential activities. The festival will feature displays of OCOP products, traditional crafts, local cuisine and folk arts, while also linking heritage sites within the World Heritage Site. Technology will be used to provide residents and visitors with information on programs, attractions and services.
According to Le Duy Manh, Deputy Head of the Con Son - Kiep Bac Relic Management Board, preparations are focused on ensuring that the rituals are solemn and safe while making it easier for residents and visitors to participate and enjoy the festival. The addition of cultural and service activities is aimed at encouraging visitors to spend more time at the destination, stay longer and engage more deeply with what it has to offer.
A traditional festival is about more than the rituals themselves. When visitors to Con Son - Kiep Bac can combine their visit with exploring heritage sites, enjoying artistic performances, discovering traditional craft villages and sampling local cuisine before continuing to other destinations, their stay can be extended. This also generates greater demand for accommodation, food, transport, shopping and other related services.
In Do Son Ward, the Do Son Traditional Buffalo Fighting Festival - VTV 2026 has also introduced a new feature, returning to a two-round format. Following the qualifying round, 15 competing buffaloes secured places in the final round on September 19.
According to Do Son Ward authorities, holding two rounds both restores more fully the festival's traditional structure and creates additional time for cultural, tourism and trade activities to take place alongside the event. A Cultural, Tourism and Trade Week, a food festival, a street carnival and various experiential activities are being held as part of the festival.
Stimulating demand through new cultural products
Results from the summer tourism season and the National Day holiday point to continued growth in Hai Phong's tourism sector. In August 2026, the city is estimated to have welcomed 1,737,274 visitors, bringing the total for the first eight months of the year to 12,748,022, above the eight-month target of 12.73 million. During the five-day National Day holiday, Hai Phong welcomed around 1.063 million visitors, including 36,890 international visitors, with tourism revenue estimated at VND1.5945 trillion. The Con Son - Kiep Bac World Heritage Site alone attracted more than 15,000 visitors during the holiday.
Notably, the city's tourism appeal is not limited to familiar destinations. Hai Phong has introduced new cultural events to attract more residents and visitors, including the Walking Street and Night Food Street and the Miss Vietnam final 2026, contributing to the city's overall development.
According to a report, in the first eight months of 2026, Hai Phong's total retail sales of goods and service revenues were estimated at VND283.101 trillion, up 15.92% from the same period last year. Tourism and cultural events have also helped drive consumer demand across the city.
The increase in retail sales, service revenues or GRDP cannot be attributed entirely to festivals and tourism. However, visitor numbers, tourism revenues and market spending indicate that the service sector is making an increasingly visible contribution to the city's broader economic performance.
Against the backdrop of Resolution No. 11-NQ/TU, which sets a target of average annual GRDP growth of at least 13% for 2026-2030, making effective use of the service sector is increasingly important. Each new tourism product, visitor-attracting event and effectively operated night-time economic space built around cultural values, including the city's festivals, adds to economic activity.
Hai Phong currently has nearly 4,000 relics, 1,300 festivals and an expanding urban landscape with more spaces for leisure and entertainment. The next challenge is to improve the quality of festival organization, develop competitive tourism products, connect destinations and create opportunities for residents and businesses to participate. When festivals are professionally organized and integrated into a long-term development strategy, each festival season can not only leave a cultural mark but also provide another boost to the city's economic growth.
Hai Phong News