According to the Da Nang Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, effective plans have been developed to create new and attractive night-time boat tours for visitors.  The Department has worked closely with other local relevant agencies to increase checks and the monitoring of local river tourism services.  In addition, focus has been on advertising the city’s tourism for boat passengers.

Many local river tourism businesses are now offering a boat tour from the Han River to the Da Den (Black Rock).  This is a beautiful spot on the northern side of the Son Tra Peninsula, where visitors can take part in entertainment activities and dive to explore the coral reefs.  In addition, the Tran Thi Ly Bridge-Thuan Phuoc Bridge tour is proving popular with visitors because it gives them the chance to enjoy the beauty of the city’s bridges at night.  It also gives them the opportunity to watch the dragon’s head breathe fire and squirt water at the eastern end of the Rong (Dragon) Bridge at weekends.

A tourist boat on the Han River

In reality, the city is now facing a severe shortage of anchorages for tourist boats.  The local authorities have earmarked 9 locations for the construction of marinas.  To date, the DHC-Marina Company has been the only one to develop a marina complex project, which comprises a trip boat pier and anchorage for boats on the eastern side of the river.  The city is also in need of other public facilities designated for tourist boats and more lighting at the passenger pick-up and drop-off points along local riverside streets.

Meanwhile, the former site of the Han River Port is now serving as a temporary anchorage for tourist boats.  Facilities at this venue, however, have yet to satisfy the demand of local tourist boats.  The majority of the city’s tourist boats have been upgraded from fishing vessels, and are unsuitable for carrying a large number of passengers.

At a meeting on Wednesday to discuss ways to further the development of local river tourism, municipal People’s Committee Vice Chairman Dang Viet Dung remarked that the Han River has become one of the city’s landmarks and boasts great tourism potential.  He stressed the need to develop the Han River, Thuan Phuoc and Song Thu wharves as soon as possible in order to alleviate the current shortage of anchorages for tourist boats.  In addition, more new sightseeing boat tours such as boats sailing through the Cu De River to visit the historical relic site K20 in Ngu Hanh Son District should be created.

Vice Chairman Dung also suggested that there should be specific regulations about tourist boats which are allowed to operate on the river in order to enhance the quality of the river tourism service for visitors and ensure domestic waterways safety.  Boats’ crew members, including tour guides, are required to have a high level of professional skills, a thorough grasp of the city’s culture, and be good at swimming. 

He also proposed that local travel agencies should introduce new sightseeing boat tours to their customers and take the initiative to cooperate with local boat tour companies to develop local river tourism services.