A national marine tourism center

Leap and bound

According to the Da Nang Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the local tourism sector recorded 3.8 million tourists last year, a 21.9 percent increase over the previous year, including 955,000 international visitors, a 28.5 percent increase, and more than 2.8 million domestic visitors, a 19.8 percent increase. Local tourism revenue reached VND9.74 trillion in total, a 25.1 percent increase. These figures mean that the number of tourists to Da Nang has more than doubled over the past five years.

The city’s tourism development has contributed significantly to local economic restructuring from largely depending on agriculture, forestry and fisheries to tourism, trading and industrial services. Moreover, this development has also helped the city improve its competitive index to being ranked among the country’s top list in recent years.

To make these achievements, Da Nang’s authorities are determined to invest in sustainable tourism development and turn the tourism sector into one of the city’s economic spearheads, with a focus on cultural, ecological and marine tourism development.

The local tourism sector has adopted a series of solutions, including implementation of preferential tourism investment policies, and has attracted many domestic and foreign investors. As of the end of last year, Da Nang had 71 tourism investment projects, worth more than US$8.18 billion. Many resorts and tourism zones that convey local cultural, historical, marine and religious characteristics have been developed along the coast, providing tourists much better tourism services.

Da Nang has put into use a tourist assistance center, which has been regarded as a successful pilot model of tourism promotion in the country, along with hosting many major events including international firework competitions and Da Nang Summer Rendezvous programs. Local tourism human resources have been professionally trained to meet tourist demands while local authorities are determined to make the city a safe and friendly destination for tourists. These all together have lured lots of tourists to the city.

Focusing on high-class tourism services

Da Nang aims to become an international marine tourism center in the future, providing visitors high-class tourism services. It expects to welcome 8.95 million visitors in the 2016-2020 period, including 2.45 million international visitors, marking an annual tourist increase of 15.1 percent and VND31.71 trillion in total tourism revenue.

It will implement carefully prepared tourism promotion plans, including launching direct flights, to better lure more tourists from potential markets like Japan, China, the Republic of Korea, the US, France, Russia, India, the Middle East and the ASEAN bloc. In addition, it will strive to attract more domestic visitors via offering a series of persified tourism services including meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions (MICE).

The city will promote its tourism development in three directions including developing tours to high-class resorts, marine and waterway tours, MICE and shopping tours coupled with entertainment services, and tours to local cultural and historical sites and handicraft villages. Travel companies will anticipate preferential policies while investing local tourism development.

Da Nang, being identified as one of the four key economic zones in the country including Thua Thien Hue-Da Nang, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai and Binh Dinh, considered as a gateway to the sea for the Central Highlands, and located in the Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam Development Triangle Area and the East-West Economic Corridor, has large potential to develop tourism.

Bui Lap