According to travel agencies, although Da Nang is home to many supermarkets and speciality shops, domestic and foreign tourists want to explore local traditional markets where they can immerse themselves into the bustling shopping atmosphere of the natives and grasp a deeper insight into local indigenous culture.

A large number of tourists shopping at the Han Market for locally-made specialities

Holding a small bag containing traditional Vietnamese rustic specialities, Ms. Le Thai Ly Ly, a tourist from Dak Lak Province, eagerly said, during her stay in Da Nang, she was very impressed with the inviting taste of ‘mam nem’ (a type of fish sauce made from small fish and shrimps), and ‘dua chua’ (fermented mixed pickles), and this inspired her to shop at the Han Market for such items as gifts for her relatives and friends.

Apart from domestic tourists, many international ones flocked to the Han Market, one of the best places to shop in the city, as on display for sale here are a wide range of mouth-watering nosh food, including as sun-dried squid and shrimp.

Of special note, in order to satisfy the demand of international tourists, especially those to the city on booked tours, tailors in the Han Market are now offering one-hour tailoring services.

Visitors can wait or tour around the market for an hour after ordering such services to collect their tailored ‘Ao dai’.

Currently, the Han Market is now home to around 200 tailoring shops offering such services.

Mr Herto, a holidaymaker from Italy, said, in his country, it is common to see people go shopping at convenience stores and supermarkets. So, shopping ambience at traditional markets is very special to him. Apart from trading activities, there are interpersonal interactions between buyers and sellers. This is also the easiest way to discover the distinctive local culture.

Perhaps, that is a main reason why the downtown market has always been listed in the itineraries of several cruise ship operators over recent years.

In his remarks, Mr Tran Luc, the Deputy Director of the Da Nang branch of Saigontourits Travel Service Company, highlighted the significance of tourism products featuring the city’s characteristics in promoting this destination’s appeal to travellers from both home and abroad.

He, therefore, underlined a must-do to develop traditional markets into well-operated shopping areas, but still retaining the local characteristics in an effort to attract even more domestic and foreign tourists.

According to Mr Huynh Duc Trung, the Head of Travel Management Office at the municipal Department of Tourism, recent surveys conduced at the Han Market, various kinds of fish sauce and fruit are much preferred by domestic shoppers.

As for the taste of South Korean visitors, they often show their keen interest in buying ‘Ao dai’, linen clothes, footwear and such kinds of tropical fruit as bananas, mangoes, durian, and rambutans.

The market usually sees high consumptions of aloe wood, rubber, cashew nuts, and dried food products by those from China.

Every day, the Han Market receives between 500 and 600 domestic and foreign visitors, and the majority of international shoppers are from China, South Korea, and Western European countries.

Thanks to the growing consumption by shoppers from both home and aboard, the market’s traders has enjoyed a year-on-year increase in revenue.