Sports tourism - combining sporting activities, sporting events and travel - has been growing worldwide in recent years. Keeping pace with this trend, Quang Ninh, with its considerable potential, is gradually developing tourism linked with sports to help diversify products, extend the tourism season and strengthen the local tourism brand.
Taking to the sea
With its diverse natural terrain, Quang Ninh has significant potential for sports tourism, thanks to its long coastline, numerous bays and islands, sandy beaches and coastal roads suitable for sport-tour activities such as kayaking, windsurfing, surfing, sea swimming and SUP racing.
Ha Long Bay, with its status and ideal scenery, was selected as a destination on the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race 2023-2024. This not only helped promote the image of Ha Long Bay as a heritage site and natural wonder internationally, but also opened up prospects for the locality to become a centre for hosting international sailing activities in the future.
Hundreds of kilometres of coastal roads running through Quang Ninh’s heritage areas are creating favourable conditions for running, cycling and a wide range of community sporting events. The Halong Bay Heritage Marathon, held on what is regarded as one of Asia’s most scenic running routes, has become a reputable event, attracting tens of thousands of domestic and international athletes each season. Many other localities across the city also organise annual races, forming a broad network of grassroots sporting activities.
Alongside its key products, Quang Ninh is emerging as a locality with potential for developing triathlon events. Coastal areas from Van Don to Tuan Chau, with terrain linking sea routes, open water and running courses, have been highly rated by many event organisers. A number of trial competitions and medium-scale events have already been held, including Aqua Warriors Ha Long Bay and Aqua Warriors Van Don, creating initial positive impressions and offering prospects for Quang Ninh to become a new destination for the triathlon community at home and abroad.
Trekking in the highlands
In the mountainous north of the city, Yen Tu - a sacred mountain associated with the Truc Lam Zen Buddhist school and the Yen Tu - Vinh Nghiem - Con Son, Kiep Bac Complex of Monuments and Landscapes, a World Cultural Heritage Site - offers trekking journeys that combine physical activity with spiritual and cultural experiences, particularly through the “Yen Tu Heritage” and “Ultra Trail Yen Tu” races, which have been organised fairly regularly in recent years.
Meanwhile, many localities in the eastern part of the city are emerging as some of Vietnam’s most attractive trekking destinations. Mountain ranges, sacred border markers and imposing border patrol routes are increasingly becoming memorable choices for experience-seeking travellers, especially younger visitors. The changing seasonal beauty of the border area - from green rice fields to golden terraced fields, vast hillsides covered in white reeds, and the season of pristine so flowers - leaves lasting impressions as visitors trek along the routes while immersing themselves in the region’s cultural colours and fresh highland atmosphere.
Some localities also organise sporting activities with regional linkages, notably cross-border cycling in Hoanh Mo and cross-border running in Mong Cai 1 ward. These events are particularly meaningful, not only promoting the landscapes of the border area but also fostering cultural and sporting exchanges between Quang Ninh and Guangxi, China, contributing to the image of a friendly, integrated and dynamic destination.
Opportunities for golf tourism
Building on its mountainous landscapes and coastal bays, Quang Ninh also has several international-standard golf courses in operation, including FLC Ha Long, Silk Path Dong Trieu, Tuan Chau and Mong Cai, attracting high-end domestic and international visitors. These golf courses are not only sporting products but also tourism highlights, offering distinctive views, high-end services and special spaces for relaxation.
The city is currently planning 16 new golf course projects, which will help meet the leisure, sporting and recreational needs of high-end tourists visiting Quang Ninh.
Alongside these key sports, Quang Ninh is also developing a range of complementary products such as yoga, meditation and detox programmes, retreats, community sports and football tournaments for ethnic minority women, meeting the needs of different visitor groups, from young adventure seekers to middle-aged travellers looking for relaxation and balance.
More recently, pickleball has grown rapidly in Quang Ninh, attracting large numbers of players across different age groups. It is considered to have potential as a sports and entertainment product that can be integrated into tourism activities, particularly in the city’s urban areas and coastal tourism zones.
