Da Nang has seen a significant drop in the number of tourists arriving from Thailand over the past 3 years.  One of the main reasons seems to be the long-lasting political crisis in Thailand, which has affected the travel plans of Thais.  In addition, overland tours to central Viet Nam, including Da Nang, are no longer attractive to Thais because there are no new attractions.  Therefore, South Korea and Japan are emerging as the new popular destinations for Thai tourists due to the numerous charter flights to those 2 countries and the cheap airfares. 

According to the latest figures released by Da Nang-based Viet Nam Tourism Joint Stock Co (Vitours), the number of Thai tourist arrivals to the city by road between 1 and 3 April was 200.  This figure is down nearly 50% compared with the same period last year. 

Thai visitors enjoy a city tour by cyclo

According to the city’s travel agencies, the peak travel seasons for Thai tourists to Da Nang are April and May, and November and December.  Thais like to visit the city due to its smooth transportation, simple entry and exit procedures, beautiful beaches, and fresh locally-caught seafood. 

Thai visitor arrivals in the middle of April are expected to be up to 3 times as many as in the early part of the month.  There will be many large groups of 30 to 50.  Da Nang’s tourist sites like the Marble Mountains, the Da Nang Museum of Cham Sculpture, and the Linh Ung Pagoda, are the most popular for Thais.  Their spending in the city is between 200 and 300 USD  per person over their average 3 or 4-day stay.  This is mainly spent on local handicrafts and dried seafood products.  Thais are the biggest spenders in Da Nang amongst visitors from the Northeast Asian region.

In an attempt to attract more visitors from this market, a number of tourist business consortiums have been established to pick up guests at the border-gates.  They introduce their tours to the central region, and Da Nang in particular, in order to avoid any illegal dumping prices offered by smaller tourist companies.  In addition, special attention is being paid to boosting cooperation between the city’s travel agencies and local food, drink and accommodation providers to offer competitive prices for their tours.