The "gold mine" of tourism and local economy
At exactly 10:00 a.m. on October 9, the third ticket sale was also the last ticket sale of G-Dragon's concert (in Hung Yen) for all audiences both domestically and internationally. Despite preparing to "fight", Minh Trang (Hanoi) was still "overwhelmed". In just a moment, hundreds of thousands of people flooded into the two platforms Ticketbox and VinWonders as soon as the ticket sales portal opened. All tickets on VinWonders were sold out in just over 10 minutes. Not long after, the sponsor's official website also announced that all tickets for the concert were "Sold Out".
Despite quickly "scouting the Mouse" to quickly, Minh Trang still received a notification, "You are the second... 52,000 waiting to buy tickets". The number of tickets sold out quickly because in the third sale, audiences were not restricted to nationality or a close membership card (Membership) to buy tickets.
Realizing that the selling power was too "hot" for the concert in Hung Yen, the organizers and G-Dragon's side changed their decision, instead of just performing for one night, they organized a second night concert on November 9 at 8Wonder Ocean City.
Currently, on social networking platforms, a series of ticket groups (selling tickets) have been established, attracting hundreds of thousands of members from many countries to participate. In a group of "pass tickets" with up to 26,000 members, many of whom were from Korea and China, leaving "expressions" in all languages (English, Korean, Chinese) to buy tickets for the G-Dragon concert.
The G-Dragon concert ticket fever is expected to be a golden lever to help local tourism accelerate while stimulating consumption because not only audiences in Hanoi but also audiences in other localities as well as from many countries around the world have and will spend money to do their best with this music event. Hanoi, Hung Yen and keywords such as places to eat, play, and travel have been searched by many FAMs (Fans of G-Dragon) for the past month. G-Dragon's upcoming 2 concert nights in Hung Yen are also expected to bring this locality breakthrough figures in tourism and consumption.
Previously in 2023, when the Korean group - Blackpink came to My Dinh Stadium to perform, the Hanoi Department of Tourism calculated that the total number of tourists coming to Hanoi for the two days of the concert reached more than 170,000.
The number of people looking to book rooms in Hanoi increased 10 times during the music night. Of which, domestic visitors mainly come from the cities: Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Nha Trang, Hai Phong. International visitors to BlackPink's music show are mainly Chinese tourists, followed by: Canada, Australia, Thailand, Japan...
According to the analysis of director Hoang Cong Cuong - the person behind the success of major programs such as: Closing of the 31st SEA Games, 70th Anniversary of the Liberation of the Capital - it is easy to see that domestic and international audiences booking tickets to the G-Dragon concert in Hung Yen, buying air tickets, booking hotel rooms, participating in tours, culinary experiences and local services all contribute to promoting strong growth in the tourism economy.
Not only that, G-Dragon's concert in Vietnam also has huge media value. When G-Dragon appeared, all information, images, and behind-the-scenes videos were widely shared and spread globally through social networks. Every post, every photo of G-Dragon in Vietnam is a natural form of advertising, spread to tens of millions of fans around the world. If converted into media value, that figure is equivalent to millions of USD, but what is more valuable is the image of Vietnam - a safe, friendly and dynamic destination - being strongly promoted globally, said director Hoang Cong Cuong.
World-close trend
Director Hoang Cong Cuong commented that developing the economic potential of music is a trend approaching the world - something that many countries have done very methodically and for a long time.
Mr. Cuong cited that in 2024, Singapore will spend about 12-18 million USD to invite Taylor Swift to organize an exclusive The Eras Tour show series in Southeast Asia. The old formula but "picking in money" helps the country boost tourism growth. In Korea, Huyndai Research Institute estimates that BTS can generate up to $43.8 billion in profits for the country's economy in the period from 2014 to 2023.
Recognizing the strong attraction of music tourism, many localities in Vietnam are quickly seizing the opportunity. The 3rd Ninh Binh Festival (11.2024) attracted more than 428,000 visitors, an increase of 15% over the same period, bringing a large source of revenue for accommodation and cuisine to the locality. Ha Long is preparing to organize the concert "Heritage Fire - Light Up the Future" (October 29, 2025) to open a series of events to stimulate tourism, aiming to develop the night-time economy, heritage economy and cultural industry.
A music show is said to be able to bring in immediate revenue from ticket sales, travel, accommodation, services... but the greater value lies in the brand strength, destination image and the reach it creates.
As in the case of Ha Anh Tuan holding a concert in Ninh Binh, the program not only makes the local tourism market vibrant again but also helps the Ninh Binh tourism brand to be more strongly identified. Or when director Hoang Cong Cuong performed the live show "Chuyen Tinh Ban Gioc" in Cao Bang, the number of visitors increased significantly, proving that music can become a strong catalyst for tourism and economic growth.
The question is how to make concerts not only stop at the "immediate effect", but become a long-term driving force for tourism and local image.
According to Mr. Le Quoc Vinh, Chairman of Le Media Group, if localities only rely on organizers, waiting for them to bring concerts to their homes, concerts will not become a real economic sector.
Each small effort of the organizing companies and art troupes can only create individual phenomena and immediate effects. But if it is developed in a methodical local investment strategy, many people will want to come. We have programs such as Anh trai vu ngan cong gai, Anh trai say hi, Chi dep dap gio roi song - all of which are commercial successes. However, if it is only limited to individual events, the effect will be short-term. When organized periodically and invested in thoroughly, these programs will form habits and the need to enjoy them regularly. Efforts such as the Gio Xuan Festival or the Ho Do International Music Festival are very worthy of support. But to create a spreading effect, it is impossible for artists and producers alone - the State, businesses and society need to get involved, Mr. Le Quoc Vinh emphasized.
