Published:  08:13 Saturday - November 19, 2016

Vietnam's central city of Da Nang has been voted ninth out of the top 10 attractive holiday destinations in Asia by readers of the Hong Kong-based Smart Travel Asia magazine, the city’s Center of Tourism Promotion said on Thursday.

This is the fourth consecutive year Da Nang has been listed Smart Travel Asia's top 10.

"Da Nang remains a hugely popular draw for its stunning stretch of unbroken beach, local food, family travel, meetings options and great resorts," the magazine said.

Nguyen Thi Hoai Anh (right) deputy head of Danang's Center of Tourism Promotion, receives the award from Smart Travel Asia Editor Vijay Verghese. 

The city was also named "2016 Asia’s Leading Festival and Event Destination" by the World Travel Awards, knows as "the Oscars of the travel industry”.

The city’s Department of Tourism said that 2016 has been a good year for tourism in Da Nang.

The city is estimated to welcome 5.5 million tourists this year, up 17.7 percent from last year. Foreign visitor numbers are projected to grow 31.6 percent to hit 1.66 million, while domestic visitors are expected to rise by 12.5 percent to 3.8 million.

Revenue from tourism is also set to surge by 24.7 percent on-year to hit VND16 trillion ($711 million).

Da Nang has set a target of attracting 6.1 million tourists in 2017, up 10.7 percent against 2016.