Category Archives: Danang today

Expansion of city’s tourist markets

By | Danang today | No Comments

Currently, South Korean and Chinese nationals are taking the lead in foreign visitor arrivals to Da Nang.

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Between 2013 and 2017, South Korean arrivals rose by 16 times from 55,000 in 2013 to over 900,000 in 2017. Meanwhile, the Chinese and Japanese tourist markets maintained a stable growth during that period.

Mr Nguyen Nhu Nam, the General Director of the Viet Nam Travel Mart Joint Stock Company, explained that the reason for the significant increase of South Korea and Chinese arrivals is that over recent years the city has seen an upward trend in the number of so-called zero-dong tours, mostly applied to the Chinese and South Korean tourists.

“The growing such tours bring problems rather than benefits for the city as they have resulted in the unfair competitive environment between travel businesses, the low quality of tourism services, the uncontrolled extensive operation of unlicensed foreign tour guides who spread distorted information about the truth of Viet Nam’s history and its culture, and the tax evasion by some shops”, he added.

Mr Nam, therefore, highlighted the importance of exploiting the city’s new international tourist markets in order to reduce its dependence on its traditional ones.

According to Ms Huynh Thi Huong Lan, Deputy Director of the city’s Tourism Promotion Centre, remarked in addition to visitors from South Korea, China and Japan, Da Nang has welcomed a large number of tourists from the USA, Australia and such European nations as the UK and France.

She added India is also a very potential tourist market, but the city has yet to fully tap this market. Hence, the number of Indian visitors has been still modest.

In particular, only 4,963 Indian people visited the city between January and August, accounting for only 0.23% of the total international visitor arrivals.

Ms Lan explained the reason that there is no non-stop flights connecting Da Nang with India, and local tourism businesses are facing some difficulties in organising tourism promotion activities in the country due to high costs.

Also, the city is facing a shortage of new and special tourism products, and tourism support services. In addition, there is a lack of special services for Indian guests, as well as for foreigners in high-end segments.

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Mr Ngo Quang Vinh, Director of the municipal Tourism Department, said the city targets to welcome 8.9 million visitors by 2020, including 3.6 million foreigners with the annual growth rate of 18.3%.

In addition, the city sets a goal for increasing the proportion of potential international tourist markets such as the USA, Australia, India and European countries to 15% by 2021 from 6.57% in 2017.

In a bid to exploit visitors from such markets, the local authorities will work with international airlines to open the Da Nang-Melbourne non-stop flights, and with Qatar Airways to organise tourism promotion activities in the Europe and the North America.

Heed will be paid to welcoming groups of international farmtrip and international presstrip which want to survey and write articles about the local attractions and its tourism products.

Importance will be paid to developing more special tourism products for European visitors, and promoting the development of MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) tourism.

Source: Da Nang today

Over 93% of foreigners satisfied when touring Viet Nam

By | Danang today | No Comments

Over 93% of interviewed foreign tourists said they are satisfied with their trips to Viet Nam, according to the Viet Nam Annual Tourism Report 2017 by the Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT).

 

The VNAT recently said that in 2017, it distributed 27,000 feedback forms to foreigners at 12 international border gates nationwide, including four airports, four land border gates, and four seaports.
Results showed that up to 93.46% of the respondents were satisfied and very satisfied with their trips in Viet Nam. Only 0.63% of them recorded any dissatisfaction.

More than 92.5% of tourists stayed overnight in Viet Nam at tourism accommodations, and 7.4% visited the country within one day. Over 60% of the visitors organised tours by themselves.

Meanwhile, each foreign visitor staying at tourism accommodations spent an average of 1,171.3 US$ in Viet Nam, with Asian visitors spending 995.7US$, European visitors 1,295.3 US$, visitors from Oceania 1,791.1US$ , and those from the Americas 1,525.1US$.

About 60% of the respondents were visiting Viet Nam for the first time, according to the report.
At the press conference in Ha Noi, the VNAT also reported that nearly 7.9 million foreigners visited Viet Nam in the first half of 2018, up 27.2% year-on-year. The country also witnessed around 42.8 million domestic tourists exploring the nation in this period.

Source: Bao Da Nang

City sees strong growth in high-end accommodation services

By | Danang today | No Comments

Many businesses operating in accommodation services in Da Nang have made great efforts to enhance their service quality, as the high-end accommodation segment is growing and investment in the segment projected to continue to rise in coming time.

 

Many accommodation establishments of three- to five-star are being built in the city, creating a foundation for development of middle- and high-end tourism.

Major projects under construction include the Ariyana Beach Resort and Suites Da Nang, JW Marriot, Hilton Bach Dang, My Khe Duc Long, Four Points by Sheraton, Golden Bay and Hai An, among others.

According to the municipal Tourism Department, domestic and foreign investment has been strongly poured into tourism services, especially in high-end tourism products. In addition to infrastructure, investors also paid attention to human resources development.

The number of holidaymakers in this segment has been on the rise, bringing big revenues for local hotels and resorts.

As of the end of April 2018, there were a total of 712 accommodation establishments in Da Nang with more than 29,730 rooms, rising by 7,355 rooms compared to the same period last year. Of the lodges, there are 156 three- to five-star hotels with more than 18,000 rooms.

By the end of this year, the city expects to raise the number of lodges to 774 with 36,031 rooms. Da Nang targets to have over 920 establishments with about 45,600 rooms by 2020.

In 2017, total earnings of three- to five-star hotels made up 86% of the city’s accommodation service revenue with 7.7 trillion VND (337.62 million USD), a year-on-year increase of 52%.

Viet Nam has witnessed an influx of international hotel brands and hotel management companies in the last few years, according to property consultant Savills Viet Nam.

From 30 hotels with international brand names in 2010, the number had increased to 79 at the end of last year. The strong growth of the tourism sector has also given a boost to the hospitality industry.

Da Nang is a popular tourist destination in Central Viet Nam. The online marketplace and hospitality service Airbnb announced a list of the world’s top 10 destinations for the 2018, in which Da Nang ranked fifth in booking surges of up to 255%.

According to the Da Nang Department of Tourism, the number of visitors to the central coastal city is increasing with annual average growth of 20.06% in the 2013-2017 period.

In 2017, the city welcomed a total of 6.6 million tourists, 2.1 times higher than the figure in 2013. The tourism industry generated 186,770 jobs in 2017, and grossed over 19.5 trillion VND (854.1 million USD) in revenues, 2.5-fold increase from 2013.

The city was ranked second in the list of the 10 most popular destinations among solo or couple travelers in 2018, according to the Republic of Korea’s Ticket Monster Inc.

The website said people who plan to travel abroad with family members chose Da Nang as the most popular destination.

The city is also the second-most popular destination among couple of travellers, followed by Bangkok (Thailand) and Guam (the US), it said.

According to the Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism, Da Nang was said to be the best place to live in Viet Nam with many world-recognised records. It is famous for My Khe Beach, one of the six most attractive beaches on the planet selected by the US’s Forbes Magazine in 2013, the cable line to Ba Na Hills at an altitude of 1,487 metres, and Sun Wheel, which is 115 metres in height and situated in Asian Park, Hai Chau district.

Besides, Da Nang International Airport was ranked third among the best airports in the world in 2014, according to a survey by Dragon Air.

Source: Danang Today 

Sharp rise in tourist arrivals to city

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Some representatives from Da Nang’s travel agencies are predicting that the city is likely to welcome a higher number of visitors during this year’s summer tourism season against last year.

 

Therefore, the travel agencies are now focusing on enhancing the quality of their services, and offering a wide range of new tourism products to attract even more visitors from both home and abroad.

Mr Doan Hai Dang, the Director of the city’s branch of Vietravel cum Vice Chairman of the city’s Travel Association, said that about 200 delegations of domestic and foreign visitors have booked tours to Da Nang through his company, a rise of 40% compared with the same period last year. 185 of them are domestic visitors.

His company is offering the Da Nang-Hoi An-Hue-Ba Na, and the Da Nang-Ba Na-Hue-Phong Nha Cave tours, Director Dang added.

Mr Dang noted that the city’s summer tourism season which is from April until late August attracts a large number of domestic visitors, especially those from Ha Noi, Ho Chi Minh City and some central regional localities. This is mainly attributed to the city’s beautiful and its clean beaches, plus local delicious and fresh seafood.

The city branch of the Ben Thanh Tourist Company has recently seen about 10% increase in the number of tour bookers against last year. It has been paying special attention to employing tour guides, and working with accommodation and transport service providers, to enhance their service quality. The company’s ‘Dat Quang Xua’ and Ba Na-Hoi An-Hue-Phong Nha Cave tours are priced at 3.75 million VND/ person.

 

In a similar vein, the Viet Da Travel Company is expected to bring around 2,500 tourists to the city. The company’s 4-day/3-night tour at 4-star hotels, with the price of 3 million VND/person is preferred by visitors.

The company’s Director Dinh Van Loc remarked Da Nang boasts clean, beautiful and safe beaches, and a wide range of fascinating entertainment activities. In addition, the city’s popular tourist attractions, and local friendly and hospitable residents, leave a deep impression on visitors from both home and abroad.

“A 2-day/1-night tour named ‘Free and Easy’ at the Cocobay Entertainment and Tourism Complex is being offered at the price of 390,000 VND per person. Also, there are tours to the Ly Son Islands, Cu Lao Cham (Cham Islands), Con Co Island, and Son Tra Peninsula, combined with going fishing with fishermen, watching fireworks from yachts, and having dinner at the Hai Cang Da Nang Restaurant located on the 33rd floor of the Novotel Danang Premier Han River. All tours will promise visitors wonderful times and memorable experiences’, Mr Loc added.

Currently, there are over 100 travel agents operating in Da Nang, which is expected to bring more visitors to the city. Notably, the ongoing Da Nang – Summer Rendezvous programme 2018 and the grand finale of the Da Nang International Fireworks Festival 2018 are considered as the city’s special cultural activities, helping the city more inviting to visitors.

This year’s number of local residents to visit domestic localities and foreign countries is also higher than last year’s.

In particular, in June, Vietravel has organised tours to other localities nationwide and foreign countries for 121 groups of local residents.

Mr Dang noted that the main reasons are thought to be simpler visa procedures, attractive tours with reasonable prices, and many direct flights connecting Da Nang and foreign countries.

As of late last year, there had been a total of 15 scheduled and 14 charter direct international routes connecting Da Nang with other destinations worldwide, together offering over 195 flights per weeks in total.

Source: Danang Today