How has Da Nang changed after 18 years of holding the fireworks festival?

From a small-scale competition, the Da Nang International Fireworks Festival has become a highlight tourist event of the summer. The Han River in Da Nang lights up and booms with fireworks every weekend, creating a bustling, bustling image.

Fireworks awaken both banks of the Han River during the 2025 festival season - Photo: VUONG VAN DUNG

After more than a month of competition, at 8:00 p.m. on Saturday, July 12, the final night of the 2025 Da Nang International Fireworks Festival will take place on the Han River, with the competition between the two teams Vietnam and China.

This year’s fireworks season marks 18 years since the event was first held on the Han River, 13 times held (in the beginning the festival took place every 2 years). This is also the year considered to be the most widespread.

Da Nang's Han River lights up every weekend

Talking about the influence of fireworks festivals, Ms. Nguyen Thi Anh Thi - Vice Chairwoman of Da Nang People's Committee - commented: "In the next 5 years, fireworks festivals will continue to play a driving role in promoting the development of Da Nang's cultural and tourism industry".

According to the latest report, from May 31 to June 28 - the time of the 2025 Da Nang International Fireworks Festival, accommodation establishments in Da Nang served about 1.17 million visitors, an increase of 10.3% over the same period in 2024.

DIFF 2025 is considered the largest and longest festival season ever, with a total of six competition nights. In particular, the final competition night between the Z121 Vina Pyrotech fireworks team (Vietnam Ministry of Defense ) and the Chinese team scheduled to take place on July 12 is receiving great attention from tourists.

Travel agencies, accommodation units and the tourism industry in Da Nang predict that the number of visitors booking tours to visit, have fun and watch the fireworks finale may increase by 15-20% compared to the same period last year.

Tourists arrive at Da Nang airport to travel during the fireworks festival - Photo: BD

Many accommodation establishments said that the number of rooms booked has reached 90-95%. 4-5 star hotels, resorts and accommodation establishments in the central area and along the coast are fully booked.

Not only contributing to extending the length of stay, DIFF 2025 also promotes tourist spending and creates growth momentum for many related service industries such as cuisine, transportation, experience tours and shopping.

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According to the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Da Nang City, the cumulative number of visitors using services at accommodation establishments in the first 6 months of 2025 is estimated at nearly 5.8 million. This number is 5 times higher than the number of visitors in the whole year of 2007 - when the international fireworks festival had not yet been held.

Revenue from accommodation, food and beverage, and travel in the first 6 months of 2025 is estimated to reach more than 18.2 trillion VND, 3 times higher than the whole year of 2007.

How fast is the Da Nang International Fireworks Festival growing?

In March 2008, the Da Nang fireworks competition was first held. At that time, Da Nang city was not as bustling as it is today. The appearance of fireworks on the Han River seemed to awaken the space on both sides of the river at that time.

However, due to lack of sponsors, fireworks are organized some years, and interrupted some years; each season has only 2 competition nights.

Since 2017, Da Nang has handed over all events to Sun Group Corporation. Da Nang International Fireworks Festival (DIFF) was born and has a solid foundation.

Mr. Nguyen Van Binh, Chairman of Sun Group Central Region, said that Sun Group accompanies the fireworks festival because the unit identifies this as a key tourism event.

In the first year of "socialization", the fireworks festival was organized meticulously and widely. DIFF 2017 was extended from 2 days to 2 months. The number of participating teams also increased to 8.

Fireworks light up both banks of the Han River on the second competition night of 2025 - Photo: VUONG VAN DUNG

According to statistics, the number of visitors to Da Nang in May 2017 increased by nearly 50% compared to 2016, of which international visitors increased by 81.2%. Along with DIFF 2017, a series of accompanying events turned Da Nang into the center of the summer tourist season.

The 2024 DIFF Da Nang fireworks season set a record with 162 flights serving the final night alone, an increase of more than 40% compared to normal days.

The 2025 fireworks season is considered a success, attracting the most visitors to Da Nang ever. In just the first two competition nights, Da Nang welcomed about 70,000 visitors to its accommodation facilities.

In the statistical report on the economic picture of Da Nang before the merger with Quang Nam, the Da Nang City Statistics Office also stated that Da Nang tourism has created a huge influence, promoting the development of other industries.

According to Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Da Nang, Truong Thi Hong Hanh, Da Nang has attractive and widespread tourism products such as the fireworks festival.

Since its organization, this tourism event has contributed to the growth of tourists, bringing the image of Da Nang to international friends.

"Da Nang has everything a tourist needs. Beautiful beaches, clean streets, many attractions, reasonable prices... From Da Nang, we can easily go to Hoi An ancient town and visit the ancient capital of Hue.

Especially on weekend nights, there is a fireworks festival. Da Nang tourism is like a multifunctional product that any choice can satisfy" - said Mr. Nguyen Toan Thang, a tourist in Nghe An.

Thai Ba Dung

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/da-nang-thay-doi-ra-sao-sau-18-nam-lam-le-hoi-phao-hoa-20250704102108343.htm