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| A musical performance at the Music Tourism talk on May 4 |
With ample room for growth, the fusion of music and tourism can attract a large number of tourists, turning tourism and related services into major revenue generators. If Hue succeeds in this endeavor, it could offer a solution to the city’s long-standing problem of lacking nighttime entertainment services.
Emerging trend
Hearing about an art show featuring a lineup of famous artists in Ho Chi Minh City, 35-year-old Hue resident Le Thi Thu Ngan applied for leave to attend. Although the trip involved expenses beyond the ticket price — airfare, meals, accommodation, and shopping — she was willing to cover the costs. Thu Ngan shared, “Young people nowadays are enthusiastic about such shows. The combination of music events and travel is emerging as a new trend.”
In recent times, music events have emerged as standout attractions for tourists, often likened to a phenomenon. The shows “Brother Overcoming a Thousand Challenges” and “Brother Say Hi” have sparked a ticket frenzy, drawing large audiences traveling across cities and even from overseas to attend, highlighting the potential of music tourism.
At the recent talk “Music Tourism – A New Trend in Hue City, Summer 2025” (held on the evening of May 4), experts stated that music tourism is emerging as an inevitable trend in the global tourism industry. Aside from generating direct income from ticket sales and related products, music events drive local economic growth through accommodation, dining, transportation, and other services.
In Vietnam, not only large-scale art performances but even concerts featuring a few well-known singers have attracted tourists to various localities. A notable example is the series of shows by Ha Anh Tuan in Da Lat, Ninh Binh, and Hoi An, which sparked a wave of “music tourism,” with tourist numbers surging in these destinations during the concert periods.
Hue’s tourism sector has identified music tourism as a rising trend. Accordingly, it will focus on developing cultural industry products by transforming artistic performances into regular tourism offerings to serve tourists, innovate Hue’s tourism products, and lengthen tourist stays.
Coordination sorely needed
In early 2025, many tourists, particularly young people, were thrilled by the news that the Mega Booming music festival would take place in Hue in April. However, by March, the organizers announced a postponement, citing insufficient advance ticket sales to meet the conditions for holding the event as originally planned.
This reality raises a paradox: music tourism is gaining popularity, and audiences in Huế are willing to pay to attend concerts in other cities, so why did a major music festival held in Hue face difficulties?
Mr. Châu LE, CEO and Chief Director of Mega Booming – Hue 2025, cited several factors behind the postponement of the April festival. Despite the team’s passion, preparation time was limited. Scheduling conflicts made it difficult to secure major artists. The event also coincided with the Hung Kings’ Festival holiday, when travelers had a wide range of destinations to choose from. In addition, the short lead time meant that coordination and communication among units and partners failed to generate the desired impact.
Evidently, organizing the event demands a more methodical and detailed investment. The announcement of the festival’s return has already generated impressive ticket sales, with roughly 15,000 attendees expected.
Mega Booming – Hue 2025 is scheduled for the evening of July 6. Besides attracting a star-studded lineup, the organizers highlight the importance of business collaboration in promoting music tourism in Hue. Strong partnerships between the event organizers and tour operators, hotels, restaurants, and transportation providers are essential to fully leverage the festival’s economic benefits.
This approach involves building a multidimensional partnership model among businesses, from hotels offering special accommodation packages to travel agencies creating tours that blend heritage site visits with the music festival. It is a strategy that enables the entire tourism ecosystem to benefit from a single major event.
Hue still lacks night tourism offerings. However, if the proposed model succeeds, Hue could become a frequent host for major music events, helping to position the ancient capital as both a heritage city and a vibrant cultural and artistic hub in Vietnam.
The success of the sustainable tourism development model driven by music also answers the question of how to effectively harness music tourism. It requires meticulous and methodical preparation by organizers, seamless coordination among event producers, the tourism sector, travel agencies, and hotels, alongside an effective communication strategy and sufficient time to create a widespread impact.