According to the latest statistics released by the Da Nang Department of Tourism, the city welcomed a total of 296,972 visitors over the 7-day Tet holiday break, up 14% against the same period last year.  132,079 of them were foreigners, up 27.6%, whilst the remainder were domestic visitors, up 5%.

Local eye-catching floral decorations in the city centre being attractive to both locals and visitors

Mr Tran Chi Cuong, the Department’s Deputy Director, said the majority of the domestic visitors were from Ha Noi and Ho Chi Minh City.  Most of them chose to book their flights, hotels, and other tourism services independently via the Internet rather than buy package tours offered by travel agencies.

According to some locally-based travel agencies, the increase in the number of visitors to the city during the holiday was mainly attributed to the timing of Tet as it falls in the tourism season of such neighbouring markets as China, South Korea, and Japan, as well as for overseas Vietnamese. 

Another reason for the hike in the number of visitors to the city is the opening of new direct flights connecting Da Nang with Incheon, Busan, Daegu and Yangyang, all in South Korea, Japan’s Osaka, and Hong Kong.

In particular, a total of 84 new hotels have been put into use in the city in a bid to satisfy the growing demand for accommodations over Tet. 

Apart from offering attractive discount programmes, these accommodation establishments have treated their clients with a wide range of fascinating activities welcoming in the Lunar New Year.

Notably, the city also recorded a significant rise in the number of flights to the city, thus bringing a higher number of air passengers in comparison with the same period last year. 

Between 14 and 20 February, the city welcomed a total of 22,410 international air passengers from 269 flights, up 81.8% on last year.

By the end of last year, there had been a total of 15 scheduled and 14 charter direct international air routes connecting Da Nang with other destinations worldwide.

Thanks to the city’s favourable weather conditions over Tet, a large number of local residents and visitors visited local attractions and participated in the numerous attractive entertainment activities held across the city. 

In detail, the popular attractions together received a total of about 170,405 visitors from both home and abroad, an increase of 31.4% compared with the same period in 2016.

At the beginning of the Tet festival, such popular tourist attractions as the Linh Ung Pagoda and the Marble Mountains Tourism Site were filled with people who wanted to pray for peace and prosperity through the year.

A large number of visitors seen at the Linh Ung Pagoda

In a similar vein, the 2018 Spring Flower Festival at Lien Chieu District’s 29 March Park and eye-catching floral decorations along a section of Bach Dang riverside walk, and at the western and eastern ends of the Rong (Dragon) Bridge, have attracted thousands of people who wanted to enjoy the joyful and boisterous festive atmosphere.

Likewise, a large number of locals and visitors have also shown their great interest in numerous interesting cultural events, some of which featured traditional folk games, at the SunWorld Ba Na Hills resort, the Sun World Da Nang Wonders (Asia Park), and the Helio Centre entertainment complex.