There has been an upward trend in the number of tourists from both home and abroad coming to Da Nang over recent year. It is the fact that, however, their spending in the city has been still modest, with mainly poured into such basic services as accommodation, transportation, drinking and eating. Therefore, the city is focusing on how to encourage visitors to raise their spending during their stay periods in the city.

Attracting tourists to major shopping areas is expected to partly stimulate their spending. International tourists are seen shopping at a souvenir shop.

A 2017 survey on 1,000 foreign and 2,000 domestic visitors, and 100 travel agencies, with the majority of interviewees in the age-group of between 15 and 44 showed that the average spending by the foreign and domestic visitors in the city was only 5.32 million VND and 2.75 million VND per person over the average 3.6 and 3-day stay periods respectively.

Accordingly, domestic and foreign visitors spend an average of only 1.567 million VND and 1.029 million VND per day respectively.

It is noticeable that, 72.3% of the interviewees’ spending was on accommodation, eating, and drinking, and transport services, whilst the remainder was spent on entertainment and relaxation activities, plus other services.

Apart from the growing number of tourists arriving in the city by air and road, in recent years, the volume of cruise ship tourists coming to Da Nang has increased.

However, the average spending by those from Euro and the Americas ranges from 100USD and 150USD, whilst that of Chinese ones is only about 80 USD.

It is necessary to develop new unique tourism products. Tourists are pictured buying souvenirs at Son Tra night market.

As for their proposals to increase visitors’ spending during their stay in the city in the coming time, many experts underlined a need to develop more eating and shopping services at big commercial centre, and amusement parks.

The Director of the Khang Huy Holiday Co Ltd, Mr Ly Dac Nam highlighted the importance of creating more special night-time tourism products in the city, in a bid to make cruise ship passengers stay longer here, and encouraging their spending as well.

Ms Truong Thi Hong Hanh, the Deputy Director of the municipal Department of Tourism, said, the local tourism industry has embarked upon the implementation of plans to diversify international tourist markets and further the progress of domestic ones.

Both plans focus on specific solutions with the intention of attracting more visitor arrivals by diversifying tourism products, especially those linked to natural elements.

Another heed will be paid to inspiring visitors to gain travel experiences at such existing cultural and historical tourism products as Ngu Hanh Son historical and cultural park, Dien Hai Citadel, Linh Ung Pagoda on the Son Tra Peninsula.

It is also a good idea to create the linkage between the locally cultural and historical values with famous cultural heritages in the central region as Hoi An, the Hue Imperial Citadel, the Museum of Cham Sculpture, and the My Son Sanctuary.

The progress of MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) tourism, which might generate high revenues to the tourism sector will be fostered.

The upgrade of the existing Tourist Support Centre Research into the Da Nang Convention and Visitors Bureau will be taken into consideration.