Over recent years, the Da Nang Tourist Support Centre at 108 Bach Dang, which is under the management of the city’s Tourism Promotion Centre, has proved effective.   Most notably, the support centre’s staff members have always tried to leave visitors with a good impression thanks to their friendly attitude and high-quality services, thereby helping to promote the image of Da Nang as a friendly and hospitable city. 

Visitors at the International Airport’s information desk

Apart from asking for information about local tourist attractions, visitors to the centre also send their feedback on the quality of services at local tourist sites.

Mr Miguel el Senor, a visitor from Chile, said that the support centre’s staff members enthusiastically introduced him to a lot of useful information on local attractions, and entertainment and relaxation areas, as well as willingly recommended suitable travel schedules for him.  Another foreign visitor said that she felt very grateful to the staff members for retrieving her lost luggage from the city’s International Airport.  

Ms Vo Thi Ngan Ha, an employee at the support centre, said that there has been an increasing number of visitors on independent trips to the city, thereby increasing the demand for tourist information.  She added that domestic visitors usually ask for information about local accommodation establishments and attractions, whilst foreigners, especially older ones, more often ask about Quang Nam Province’s Hoi An.

Ms Ha recalled the Thao Van 2 trip boat capsize on the Han River on 4 June.  Soon after the incident happened, the injured passengers, including 4 Malaysians, were rushed to local hospitals.  Ms Ha and her colleagues regularly visited the Malaysian victims who much appreciated their kind concern.

The Deputy Director of the city’s Tourism Promotion Centre, Ms Nguyen Thi Hoai An, said that over the past 4 years free tourist information has been provided for around 245,000 domestic and foreign visitors to the support centre’s information desks at the airport, and 22,000 more at the headquarters of the support centre.  Also, about 6,500 had called the support centre’s hotlines to ask for tourism information, and about 350 have sent complaints to the support centre via email about the quality of services at local tourist sites.

Ms An added that her agency is now focusing on offering training courses for the support centre’s staff in order to improve their professional qualifications as well as their problem solving skills.  In particular, these employees have the opportunity to attend courses in basic English, Chinese, Japanese and Korean.  They are always updating the latest information on local attractions, restaurants, and transport and accommodation services to provide the best service for their customers.

The Deputy Director of the municipal Department of Tourism, Mr Tran Chi Cuong, remarked that the useful services offered by the support centre have helped both domestic and foreign visitors to feel secure and comfortable during their time in the city.  He also dubbed the support centre’s staff members ‘silent tourism ambassadors’ for advertising the city’s image to international friends.