Da Nang city is becoming a popular choice for numerous billionaire families from India to host their extravagant weddings. According to VnEconome, the central city of Da Nang is expecting to hold six Indian weddings in the first two months of 2024.
In an effort to promote wedding tourism services in the 2024-2025 period, Da Nang’s tourism sector has unveiled its official motto “Da Nang – Where happiness begins”.
Recognizing the potential of wedding tourism services in the near future, a recent seminar on developing wedding tourism services in the city has emphasized the significance of this market in Da Nang.
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| An Indian wedding held at Furama Resort in Da Nang city. Photo: NDO |
Between January 19 to 21, the Sheraton Grand Da Nang Resort hosted a lavish wedding party for an Indian billionaire couple. The party owner spent approximately $500,000, covering more than 250 rooms over 3 days, with nearly 500 guests, service staff, and transporting over 1 ton of materials, costumes, and props from India to Da Nang.
In March 2019, a resort in Phu Quoc was also fully booked to accommodate a spectacular wedding event for a billionaire couple from India. The wedding of Rushang Shah and Kaabia Grewaly featured 700 guests, including elite individuals from India and various other countries, along with over 200 waiters. This grand celebration consisted of 11 different events and ceremonies over 4 days, from March 7 to 10, 2019.
This significant event resulted in a tremendous surge in searches for hotels and flights to Vietnam by Indian tourists, with numbers skyrocketing by 390% from January 2019 to mid-May 2023. In 2023, Da Nang city is expected to continue growing its share of the Indian tourist market with over 95,000 Indian visitors, accounting for 50% of the total number of Indian tourists visiting Vietnam.
Preparing for the Luxury Segment
Da Nang city plans to take advantage of the growing interest in the Indian market, which is known for its extravagant destination weddings and a wedding market estimated to reach $100 billion by 2025, according to VNA.
The Da Nang Tourism Promotion Centre highlights that wedding tourism has become a strategic focus for many Asian countries over the past 5 years, particularly in Southeast Asia.
To support these weddings, the local Tourism Department has coordinated with various units to carry out welcoming activities. This includes projecting a wedding welcome message on the LED screen in collaboration with Da Nang International Terminal Investment and Operation JSC, and providing quick customs clearance for wedding-related goods and luggage.
The Department of Tourism has also organized flower arrangements and souvenirs with blessings to express gratitude to the bride’s family on behalf of Da Nang. Furthermore, guests attending these weddings are welcomed with performances featuring traditional Vietnamese musical instruments.
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| Furama – Ariyana Da Nang Tourism Complex has won big at the World Luxury Awards 2023. Photo: VNA |
Da Nang is known for being home to My Khe, which is ranked as one of the six most beautiful beaches on the planet. Situated in a prime location, the city offers direct air routes to India, including New Delhi, Mumbai, and Ahmedabad.
The city also shares cultural similarities with Indians and possesses sites that symbolize Champa culture, such as the Cham Sculpture Museum and My Son Sanctuary. To attract Indian guests, the city needs to establish an ecosystem of accommodations, chefs, and food materials.
Truong Thi Hong Hanh, Director of the municipal Tourism Department, stated that Da Nang is a fresh and appealing destination for Indian tourists due to several advantages. These advantages include marine tourism, internationally renowned hotel brands, captivating theme parks, vibrant nightlife activities, diverse cuisine, connections to some of the world’s cultural heritage sites in Vietnam, and its reputation as Asia’s Leading Festival and Event Destination.
The influx of Indian visitors in 2023 serves as an initial testament to the allure of this city, which welcomed over 95,000 Indian arrivals, accounting for nearly half of the total number of Indian tourists visiting Vietnam last year, according to Hanh.
The local tourism sector has devised various measures to attract wedding tourists, such as opening up direct air routes to key markets, bolstering promotional efforts, and hosting wedding fairs and exhibitions, explained Hanh.
Cao Tri Dung, chairman of the Da Nang Tourism Association, has evaluated that the city possesses numerous advantages to develop this type of wedding tourism. This also serves as a product to attract tourists, particularly from the upper class abroad.
According to Dung, Da Nang offers convenient transportation, comprehensive services with numerous 5-star hotels and spacious venues to cater to large-scale and luxurious wedding parties. Additionally, the city boasts stunning and romantic scenery, making it an ideal choice for couples on their special day.
“For foreign tourists, Da Nang is seen as a new destination. They have traditionally chosen Bali and Phuket, but now they are turning to Da Nang for its impressive and high-quality offerings,” emphasized Dung.
Da Nang to Host 5 Additional Billionaire Wedding Parties |
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In the upcoming months, Da Nang is expected to hold 5 more weddings for Indian billionaires, with an expected attendance of 200 to 350 guests. These events will last for 3 to 5 days, as reported by Nguoi Lao Dong (Laborer) newspaper, citing the Da Nang Tourism Promotion Centre. Furthermore, hotels in Da Nang will host dozens of weddings for couples from Japan and other countries. Nguyen Duc Quynh, general director of Furama Resort and chairman of the Da Nang Hotel Association, revealed that weddings for foreign tourists tend to be simple and intimate. However, Indian weddings typically span several days, even up to five, with hundreds of guests in attendance. In early 2024, Furama Resort will host weddings for three Indian couples, with each event lasting multiple days and accommodating hundreds of guests. Quynh views this as a positive sign for the city’s wedding tourism sector. |
Da Nang offers virtual tours to visitors
The central city of Da Nang is effectively operating a VR360 platform entitled “A virtual vacation in Da Nang” at http://vr360.danangfantasticity.com/ as part of its efforts to strengthen digital transformation in tourism sector.
Da Nang tourism promotes domestic and international markets
After recording a strong recovery of the domestic tourist market in the second quarter of 2022, Da Nang tourism industry plans to prepare new tourism products as well as promote and welcome international flights back in the last 6 months of this year.
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