A seminar entitled “Developing Da Nang into an International Centre of Service and Tourism Industries” recently took place in the city to discuss effective strategies to accelerate the city’s development to new heights in the future.  The event was attended by 50 domestic and foreign experts who are involved in the service and tourism sectors.

Over recent years, Da Nang’s tourism sector has seen rapid growth and this has made significant contributions to the city’s progress.  The face of local tourism has been changed positively because of the arrival of leading domestic and international tourism brands, which has made Da Nang into one of Viet Nam’s most attractive tourist destinations.  The participating experts, however, noted that the existing potential and advantages of the local tourism sector have yet to be fully tapped.

An exciting paragliding display on a local beach

Currently, Da Nang is home to some luxury resorts and hotels, but there is still a severe shortage of amusement and entertainment activities nearby.  So far, a distinct tourism zone has not been established within the city.  In reality, domestic and foreign tourists’ stay period in the city is either 3 or 4 days, whilst the average length of visitor stay on the Indonesian resort island of Bali and in Thailand’s Phuket Province is up to 20 days.  The main reason is that these destinations have types of tourism different to Da Nang.

The Vice President and Director of Planning and Landscape at the US- based WATG, Mr Robert Day, stressed the need to ensure consistency between the local tourism industry and the city’s infrastructure.  He added that there must be harmony between the urban scenery and beaches, natural and man-made landscapes, and with visitors and local residents.  In addition, Mr Day suggested that the local tourism sector should create more employment for job seekers and improve their quality in order to promote their competitiveness in international markets.

Addressing the event, the Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee, Mr Huynh Duc Tho, affirmed that all the ideas presented by the participating experts at the seminar would be taken into consideration.  This will enable the city’s authorities to create suitable strategies and conduct specific actions to try to make Da Nang into an international service and tourism hub as soon as possible.