Published:  09:22 Monday - December 17, 2012

Some of Da Nang’s seaside and inner-city hotels are seeing low numbers of domestic and foreign guests in this rainy season.

According to the Da Nang Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the city has witnessed a sharp decrease in tourist arrivals in September.  In particular, the number of tourists was equal to only about 20% of the total tourist arrivals over the summer. 

Although some of the local large travel agencies, including Vitours and Viettravel, offered attractive tours plus big discounts, their number of customers between September and December was only equal to about 30% of the total figure during the peak travel season.  As a result, there was a considerable decline in tourist stays in the city.

The Director of the Da Nang Tourism Promotion Centre, Mr Nguyen Xuan Binh, suggested that to deal with this matter, local travel agencies should launch central region heritage tours of Hoi An-My Son Sanctuary, Hue Citadel and Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park in the rainy season. 

He added that although unfavourable weather conditions prevail, the city should receive a large number of foreign visitors because it is their peak travel season.  He also stressed the need for the city to take advantage of its modern transport and tourism infrastructure to develop MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) tourism. 

He said that thanks to the increasing number of direct flights to Da Nang planned for the future, the tourism sector should find it easier to launch MICE tourism fairs and develop e-commerce services for this kind of tourism to attract more international tourists.

First of all, Da Nang will concentrate on promoting its great potential for tourism.  In particular, local airlines, taxi companies, hotels, restaurants and souvenir shops will increase their mutual support activities and boost cooperation.  It is also necessary to simplify entry/exit procedures for foreign tourists. 

The focus will be on promoting the strengths of the local tourism services featuring the regional cultural values to extend tourists’ stays in Da Nang.  They will include arts exhibitions and Vietnamese traditional musical performances, or tours discovering local people’s lifestyles.

Source: Danang Today