Nearly 15,000 visitors landed at Paradise Summer Fest: Can Gio rose on the southern map

The rise of a new destination

For many years, when mentioning tourist and resort destinations around Ho Chi Minh City, most tourists will immediately think of Da Lat or Vung Tau. Meanwhile, Can Gio, despite owning a long coastline and the most unique mangrove ecosystem in the world, is still mainly seen as a daytime sightseeing destination rather than a real resort destination.

However, the numbers that have appeared continuously recently are showing a remarkable shift. If the Spring Festival attracted more than 50,000 visitors, the Marathon on April 30 - May 1 gathered more than 5,000 athletes, then the recent Paradise Summer Fest witnessed another explosive milestone for Can Gio when nearly 15,000 visitors in just one day took place.

More important than individual numbers is the continuous growth trend of the visitor flow. From a suburban coastal area, Can Gio is gradually appearing on the tourism and entertainment map of Southern people as a new destination rich in experiences and unmissable.

As a person born and raised in the locality, Ms. Kim Anh (33 years old) said that since Vinhomes Green Paradise was started, Can Gio has completely transformed. This land leaning against the forest facing the sea is like a sleeping princess who has now woken up and risen strongly.

Customers come continuously and significantly more, economic activities are more vibrant and many people have the opportunity to return to their hometowns to work instead of having to go elsewhere," she shared.

In fact, the vitality of a destination is not measured by the number of visitors once, but by the ability to retain them and make them want to return many times. If previously tourists came to Can Gio mainly to eat seafood, visit mangrove forests and then return in the day, now festivals, races and large-scale events are creating new reasons for this coastal area to become a more frequent choice for urban residents. That is also a clear signal that a new destination is gradually taking shape.

Infrastructure and experience are creating a new "coastal city

According to many studies on tourism economics, groups of tourists participating in festivals, events or sports activities are often assessed as groups of tourists that bring higher value than traditional visitors. They not only come to sightsee but are also willing to spend on food, shopping, entertainment, experiential activities and accompanying services.

This is also a group of tourists that are appearing more and more in Can Gio. From young families, groups of friends, sports lovers to communities who love outdoor events, all contribute to forming a more diverse tourist structure than before.

This is especially important because such tourist flows often create a strong spillover effect on the local economy. That is also the reason why many famous tourist cities in the world, such as Sentosa (Singapore), Gold Coast (Australia) or Palm Jumeirah (Dubai) all consider festivals, sports tournaments and year-round event series as an important part of the destination development strategy.

According to Ms. Huynh Phan Phuong Hoang - Vice Chairwoman of the Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Association, the growth momentum of Can Gio is being shown by practical projects and activities. The model being formed here has many similarities with successful sea tourism - urban centers in the region and in the world when combining a modern urban core, a massive chain of utilities with natural ecological space.

In fact, at the Vinhomes Green Paradise construction site, many large-scale items are being accelerated, such as Song Xanh Theater, golf course, VinWonders with Safari, snow mountains, Vinpearl Theme Hotel and JW Marriott international hotel chain, Intercontinental... A "backbone" infrastructure network has also extended to the sea with more than 120km of internal roads. All step by step shape the appearance of an international-class coastal megacity on the coast of Ho Chi Minh City.

In parallel, a series of strategic infrastructure projects are accelerating, such as Can Gio bridge (started on June 3rd), Phuoc Khanh bridge (completed in June 2026), Can Gio - Vung Tau sea-crossing road (started before July 2, 2026). In particular, the Ben Thanh - Can Gio high-speed railway line has a compensation and site clearance plan, ready to accelerate construction to reach the finish line on schedule in the fourth quarter of 2028.

According to Dr. Tran Quang Thang - Director of the Institute for Economic and Management Research of Ho Chi Minh City, Can Gio's advantage lies in the mangrove ecosystem recognized by UNESCO and the vast natural sea space - values that are difficult to replicate. When combined with modern infrastructure and large-scale tourism products, this place will become a new growth pole of Southern tourism, opening up room for development for accommodation, cuisine, retail, transportation, entertainment and night economy.

From a sea area mainly known for ecotourism, Can Gio is gradually positioning itself as a new tourism, entertainment and experience center of the South. When both infrastructure and urban areas are completed, Can Gio has a basis to register on the global destination map, with the prospect of welcoming 40 million visitors/year.