Leaving destination’s mark through scent
DNO - Da Nang is exploring a subtle new way to deepen visitors’ memories: using distinctive local scents to connect travellers with the city’s nature, culture and sense of place.
When scent becomes part of the journey
For many travellers, a destination is remembered not only through what they see, taste or hear, but also through the scents that quietly become part of the journey.
Around the world, tourism destinations and hospitality brands are increasingly using scent to evoke emotions, strengthen memories and create a distinctive sense of place. A familiar fragrance can instantly bring back memories of a room, a landscape or a journey taken years ago.
This close connection between scent, emotion and memory is opening up new possibilities for tourism, as destinations look beyond traditional visual branding to create experiences that stay with visitors long after they have left.
A study by the Sense of Smell Institute indicates that while visual recall of images sinks to approximately 50% after only three months, humans recall smells with 65% accuracy after an entire year.
Similarly, a study carried out at the Rockefeller University shows that in the short term we remember just 1% of what we touch, 2% of what we hear, 5% of what we see, 15% of what we taste and 35% of what we smell.
Such findings help explain why a fleeting fragrance can sometimes transport people back to a place they thought they had forgotten.
The hospitality industry has been exploring this connection for years. A 2019 study by researchers from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (China) surveyed 326 guests at an upscale hotel that used a signature scent across its properties. More than 90% of the guests recognised the scent when they entered the hotel lobby.
The study found that guests who experienced more positive emotions associated with the scent also reported higher satisfaction and stronger intentions to revisit.
The approach has been adopted by major international hospitality brands, some of which have developed signature fragrances for their lobbies, spas and other guest spaces.
These scents can later be turned into candles, room sprays or other products, allowing visitors to take a small part of the experience home with them.
Airlines have also explored scent as part of their brand experience. Singapore Airlines, for example, has long been associated with a signature fragrance used in its hot towels and cabin experience, combining floral and citrus notes.
Awakening Vietnam’s “Olfactory Heritage”
For Vietnam, in addition to landscapes, heritage sites and cuisine, the country has a rich palette of natural scents associated with local life and culture, from cinnamon, lemongrass, ginger and mint to aromatic woods, herbs, tea and citrus.
In Da Nang, Nguyen Duc Quynh, Vice Chairman of the Da Nang Tourism Association and Chairman of its Hotel Chapter, suggests viewing scents linked to local history, culture and community memory as a form of “olfactory heritage.”
Travellers may not remember every detail of the hotel where they stayed, but they may remember the scent of lemongrass from a cold towel or the herbal fragrance used in a spa treatment. Such sensory experiences can contribute to a destination’s distinctive identity
Nguyen Duc Quynh, Vice Chairman of the Da Nang Tourism Association and Chairman of its Hotel Chapter
This concept could open new opportunities for Da Nang and the wider Central Region, where locally sourced aromatic materials such as Tra My cinnamon and Hue cajeput oil offer potential for tourism, wellness, spa treatments, cosmetics, home fragrances and premium souvenirs.
The opportunity, however, is not simply about selling raw materials. Its greater value lies in designing experiences, developing products and telling local stories, turning natural resources into emotional connections with a destination. Hotels, resorts and spas in Da Nang could be among the first tourism businesses to explore this approach.
Local ingredients could be incorporated into massage and steam treatments, sleep and wellness programmes, while carefully designed signature scents could be used at selected guest touchpoints.
For international visitors, such experiences could offer another way to discover Da Nang, not only through its beaches, mountains, heritage and cuisine, but through the distinctive aromas of central Vietnam. Used thoughtfully, scent can become an invisible yet powerful layer of destination identity.
It may not replace the sights and sounds of a journey, but it can help turn a visit to Da Nang into a memory that travellers can rediscover long after they return home.