Miss World 2026 has provided a special opportunity for Quang Ninh to promote its image globally. The journey of 111 contestants from 111 countries and territories once again brought the breathtaking beauty of Ha Long Bay closer to audiences around the world. Yet, the event also raises a larger question: how can visitors look beyond the scenicbeauty of Quang Ninh to trully understand and remember its culture, history and people?
While Ha Long Bay was already a familiar destination for many contestants from Europe and North America through images and media coverage, it is a first time discovery fornumerous representatives from the Caribbean, South America and Africa. Quang Ninh’s selection as the venue for the opening activities of Miss World 2026 has thus generated remarkable international exposure. Images of Ha Long Bay and the contestants’ experiences, were broadcast acrossmedia and social platfỏm to audiences in over 100 countries and territories.
Notably, after their visit, several contestants expressed a desire to return to Quang Ninh. Bulgaria’s representative Tsvetelina Lozanova said she wanted to bring her family back to explore more of the land. Montenegro’s representative Masa Vukicevic planned to return to Ha Long to experience an overnight stay on the bay. Meanwhile, the UK representative Grace Richardson said she would stay in Vietnam for around two weeks after the competition to further explore its culture and tourism.
With a busy schedule and limited timeframe, weaving rich cultural content into the itinerary was not small feat. However, the experience of reigning Miss World 2025 Opal Suchata shows that even a brief journey can leave an indelible mark when thoughtfully curated. Over nearly three hours, Opal experienced different layers of Quang Ninh’s identity, from the Tran Quoc Nghien Temple and the urban landscape of Ha Long to Quang Ninh Museum and a boat trip on Ha Long Bay. At Quang Ninh Museum, she exploredlocal history, culture, people, coal industry and heritage values. On the boat, simple local treats such as peanut candy and cha cake, along with herbal tea, also became part of the story of local life. The experiences connected history, culture and people with the mining heritage and the province’s sea and islands, creating a relatively comprehensive picture of Quang Ninh.
Following the journey, Opal Suchata described Quang Ninh as being like a miniature Vietnam, where natural landscapes, diverse cultures and people converge.
Quang Ninh has many more stories to tell in this way: its maritime culture, the legacy of Van Don trading port, Truc Lam Zen Buddhism in Yen Tu, the lives of its ethnic communities and the history of the Mining Region. If these values are properly integrated into existing tourism products, they can make journeys through Quang Ninh more diverse and meaningful. Therefore, the value of Miss World 2026 for Quang Ninh lies not only in spreading beautiful images of Ha Long Bay around the world. More importantly, the event points to a new approach: rather than simply bringing visitors to a beautiful destination, Quang Ninh needs to create journeys with stories to tell; rather than merely presenting its resources, it needs to turn those resources into experiences. This approach can help Quang Ninh make better use of the value of its heritage, culture and people, enhance visitor experiences, extend stays and, more importantly, give international visitors more reasons to return to this heritage-rich destination.
By Hoang Lam
