From October through to April is the period considered to be Da Nang’s cruise ship season.  The city is therefore expected to welcome an increasing number of international cruise ship passengers over the next few months.

International cruise ship passengers arriving at Tien Sa Port

According to some local travel agencies, cruise ship passengers come from many parts of the world, but mainly from Asian and European countries.  Asian passengers are very interested in local shopping and culinary activities, whilst European and American visitors prefer to discover the culture and daily lives of local residents.

Mr Le Tat Thuong from the city’s branch of Destination-Asia, remarked “Most of the European and American cruise ship passengers to the city are elderly, around 60 years old and over.  They often show a keen interest in visiting local tourist areas, museums and historical relic sites, as well as enjoying city tours by cyclo.  Popular tourist areas are the Da Nang Museum of Cham Sculpture, and Quang Nam Province’s Hoi An and My Son Sanctuary”.

The Deputy Director of the city's branch of the Saigontourist company, Mr Tran Luc, said that Da Nang is likely to welcome an increasing number of large cruise ships thanks to its modern infrastructure system and high-quality tourism services.  He emphasised the need for the city to build a larger and specialised wharf for cruise ships to receive the large vessels accommodating between 4,000 and 6,000 passengers.  He also said that the focus should be on creating more parking areas at local shopping venues, and eating and drinking areas for visitors.

Mr Luc said, “Da Nang is facing a severe shortage of spacious dedicated shopping centres to meet the diversified shopping demands of Asian cruise ship passengers.  Visitors to South Korea are often recommended to buy the country’s high-quality Ginseng, whilst those to Japan are suggested to buy a wide range of delicious tea.  Therefore, Da Nang and Quang Nam Province should boost their cooperation to develop lingzhi mushrooms into a special product to sell it to visitors”. 

The Deputy Director of the Da Nang Department of Tourism, Mr Nguyen Xuan Binh, remarked “Between January and October, the city welcomed 48 cruise ships, carrying a total of 49,820 international passengers, 25 ships more and a 2.5-fold increase respectively against the same period in 2015.  It is predicted that another 14 ships, carrying a total of 38,150 passengers, will dock at the city’s Tien Sa Port by the end of this year, up 92% against last year”.

He continued, “Local travel agencies are making efforts to develop numerous new attractive tours to meet the diversified demands of foreign visitors.  In addition, the city’s tourism sector is cooperating with local travel companies to open new tours to local tourist attractions, including the Tuy Loan Village Communal House in Hoa Vang District’s Hoa Phong Commune, and some traditional craft villages in Da Nang.”