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The cable car system at Vietnam's famous tourist destinations has created a hit with the world media. The New York Times and a series of international newspapers have continuously praised and "favored" these top positions in the list of things to experience when exploring the S-shaped land.
"Rain of compliments" from the international community
On October 25, 2023, the American daily newspaper New York Times published an article with a curious title about cable cars at famous tourist destinations in Vietnam: "If you can take the cable car to the Colosseum, you are in Vietnam". As soon as it was published, the article ranked first in the Travel section and appeared on the home page of America's leading daily newspaper, attracting readers worldwide.
What author Patrick Scott describes about Vietnam's cable car in the New York Times article is full of brilliance and impression. Across the country, there are 6 Sun World parks with cable cars, earning 9 Guinness World Records. At the Pearl Island of Phu Quoc, the cable car line crosses 8 km of sea to see the "crystal clear" ocean from above. In the Northwest, there is a cable car route to the top of Fansipan - the roof of Indochina, crossing the sea of thick and white clouds. And not to mention the cable car route to the top of Ba Na (Da Nang) - the first milestone of Sun Group in Vietnam, turning the former French resort into Sun World Ba Na Hills - an industrial complex. European-style amusement park, with the Golden Bridge - a world media phenomenon, a symbol of Vietnamese tourism.
The international press has been impressed with cable car systems in Vietnam before. The most typical example is the Hon Thom cable car, which has been continuously receiving attention from the world media recently, with the consensus being that it is a must-try experience when coming to Phu Quoc.
In October 2023, Yonhap news agency called the Hon Thom cable car "a unique experience, seeing the Mediterranean landscape in a tropical country". "Bible of the travel world" Lonely Planet, in its post in early November, commented that the Hon Thom cable car experience has a reasonable price, and visitors can see the panoramic view of Phu Quoc Sea from above, which is extremely beautiful.
Travel and Leisure, at the end of July, suggested the cable car to Ba Na Peak as one of the best experiences in Da Nang. Meanwhile, Australia's Escape magazine also said that going to Sun World Ba Na Hills tourist area at about 1,500m above sea level makes "Da Nang more interesting for all tourists".
The cable car has also become a "magnet" that attracts tourists to Vietnam because it suits the needs of modern tourists. Mr. Yong Sun Ok - Head of Southeast Asia at Korea's leading travel company, Hana tour, said that Vietnam attracts Korean tourists because it can access the mountains by cable car. "I like to ride the cable car. I think the most attractive thing is seeing the scenery from above," he said.
Sustainable value
The cable car is not only a means of transporting passengers but also a symbol of the creativity of Vietnamese tourism workers. Suppose our country's nature is endowed with undeniable beauty and appeal. In that case, the cable car can reach them most completely.
However, such values alone cannot cause the international media to spend so much "paper and ink" on the cable car system.
Positive comments and continuous praise from leading international newspapers have shown the influence of cable cars on the image of Vietnam's tourism industry. The cable car system is one of the typical examples showing the outstanding growth of Vietnam's tourism infrastructure, making an important contribution to promoting the local economy in recent years, as the New York Times commented: "Vietnam is home to the world's four longest cable car lines, all built in the past decade, showing the spectacular transformation of the country's economy and tourism industry."
Cable cars are considered a way to develop sustainable tourism, bringing a "new face" to the destinations where they appear, improving the lives of indigenous people, and contributing to local economic development.
As noted by the New York Times article, with the Sa Pa government, the locality only welcomed 65,000 tourists in 2010, before the highway from Hanoi was built in 2014 and the cable car was inaugurated in 2016. By 2019, visitor numbers had skyrocketed to 3.3 million and reached 2.5 million last year to recover from the Covid pandemic.
Fansipan cable car, along with an attractive tourism ecosystem including Sun World Fansipan Legend and Hotel de la Coupole - MGallery Sa Pa, is a boost that helps Sa Pa's GRDP per capita increase from more than 40 million VND/person to more than 80 million VND/person, in just 5 years.
In Da Nang, along with iconic works and a series of large-scale events, the cable car and Sun World Ba Na Hills have become important driving forces, creating impressive growth numbers since their inception. According to statistics, from 2009 to 2018, the number of visitors to Da Nang increased by 463%, and visitors to Ba Na increased more than 160 times. 2019 marked the outstanding development of the city's tourism industry, reflected in the number of 8.6 million visitors, of which international visitors were estimated at 3.5 million, bringing in an estimated total revenue of 30,973 billion dong.
Locating Vietnam on the world tourism map
In a sustainable tourism development roadmap, the cable car lays the foundation for developing tourism infrastructure to "lead" tourists to attractive tourism products, such as " man-made wonder". The most successful example can be mentioned as the Golden Bridge at Sun World Ba Na Hills (Da Nang).
Right from the moment it was formed in the middle of Chua Mountain, the Golden Bridge has surpassed the mission of a bridge, leading tourists to a fairyland to become a new symbol of Vietnamese tourism. Visitors can easily see images of the Golden Bridge "covering" everywhere in souvenir shops.
Recently, an article by Bored Panda commented that the image of Da Nang is now "synonymous" with the Golden Bridge in the eyes of international visitors: "It is no exaggeration to say that the Golden Bridge has put Da Nang on the tourist map of hundreds of millions of tourists across Asia and beyond."
In Phu Quoc, Sunset Town is a symbol every time international media mentions Pearl Island. South Korea's Yonhap news agency commented that Sunset Town is "a unique experience when viewing the Mediterranean landscape in a tropical country", while Australia's Traveler website said that "Visitors will enjoy exploring every corner of this town of Italian beauty."
It can be seen that when mentioning Vietnam's image on the world tourism map, international media no longer mentions only natural wonders such as Ha Long Bay or Son Doong Cave but also tourism products. Attractive calendar created by people. The image of Vietnam is now associated with the extraordinary creativity of tourism workers, with records recorded by the world, such as cable cars.
