Between January and May, Da Nang welcomed an estimate of over 49,000 Chinese tourists, a decrease of 6.5% compared with the same period last year.  Since mid May, the number of Chinese visitor arrivals to the city has declined by almost 70%.  In addition, those who come from Chinese-speaking countries including Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan are now reluctant to book tours to Da Nang.  Nearly 50% of the bookings from these countries have been cancelled.  The city has also seen a decrease of between 15% and 20% in the number of visitors from the USA, France, Japan and other countries worldwide.  Room occupancy rates of between 10 and 20% have been reported at over 20 local 3 to 5-star hotels. 

Some Chinese tourists visiting Han Market

Currently, many local travel agencies which mainly explore the Chinese tourist market are facing continuous cancellations of tours and services. Almost 100% of the booked tours to the city between June and July have been totally cancelled.  In the current context of the complicated situation in the East Sea, the number of Chinese tourist arrivals to Da Nang is likely to continue its downward trend in the remaining months of this year.

To deal with the problem, the Minister for Culture, Sport and Tourism, Mr Hoang Tuan Anh, has asked local travel agencies to take the initiative and to shift their focus to other potential international markets like Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and other countries in the South East Asia region.  They have also been asked to enhance the city’s tourism promotion through the organisation of Roadshow and Famtrip programmes.  In addition, city-based travel agencies will closely coordinate with airlines to promote the opening of the Da Nang-Japan and Da Nang-Malaysia direct flights in July and August respectively.  More measures will be taken to ensure the quality of tourism products, offer attractive promotional programmes, and develop human resources in the local tourism sector.  This will help the city to attract more visitors from the traditional tourist markets including the USA, Australia and Europe.

Special attention will be paid to attracting more domestic tourists to Da Nang because they make a major contribution to the city’s tourism revenue.