Recent years have seen an upward trend in the number of people preferring to partake in independent travel than guided tours.

Foreigners enjoying a city tour by cyclo

Accordingly, tourists will book combo tours by themselves, including flight tickets and hotels, to visit various attractions. After arriving in a locality, visitors can opt for daily tours there to discover the beauty of local tourist attractions and learn about local culture.

In attempting to satisfy the increasing demand of visitors, travel agencies across Da Nang have been launching a wide range of daily tours with many inviting destinations. However, most of these tours have yet to meet the expectations of tourists, especially foreigners.

Mrs Mila from Spain’s Barcelona City said that tours around the city are quite simple and unattractive. She revealed that in a city tour, she only visited the Marble Mountains, the Museum of Cham Sculpture and some local bridges in the morning. In the afternoon, she was taken around the city by cyclo until 3.30pm.

She, therefore, stressed the need for the city to develop city tours with more inviting attractions, especially destinations imbued with the local cultural identity, in the coming time.

The Deputy Director of the city-based Viet Nam Tourism Joint Stock Company (Vitours), Mr Le Tan Thanh Tung, said city tours or daily tours are indispensable products for tourism cities.

However, he highlighted the necessity for local tour operators to make every effort to make such products more attractive in a bid to meet the increasing demand of visitors. The focus should be on launching more tour services and combo tours which include flight tickets and hotels for visitors.

International chefs enjoying a city tour by a double-decker bus within the framework of the Da Nang International Food Festival 2019

According to a statistics released by the municipal Department of Tourism, in 2018 alone, Da Nang welcomed a combined total of around 145,000 passengers from 100 cruise ship arrivals.

During their one-day stay in the seaside city, most of the cruise ship passengers chose organised daily tours to some popular attractions in the city. Meanwhile, other passengers were taken on tours to Quang Nam Province’s Hoi An City and My Son Sanctuary.

Mr Nguyen Tat Thuong from the city’s branch of the Destination Asia Co Ltd underlined the necessity for the city to develop its special tourism products for cruise ship passengers who only stay in Da Nang for one to two days.

The Head of the Travel Management Office under the municipal Department of Tourism, Mr Huynh Duc Trung, revealed the Coco City Tour by double-decker buses would be launched in the time ahead.

“The tour will run through many scenic pick-up and drop-off points in Ngu Hanh Son, Hai Chau and Son Tra districts. It will take visitors for a sightseeing journey of such popular attractions as the Museum of Cham Sculpture, the Bridge of Love, the Nuoc Man Airport, the Marble Mountains, and the Asia Park. Besides, it will run on Ngo Quyen-Yet Kieu route to the Tien Sa Port in order to serve cruise ship passengers”, Mr Trung noted.

Mr Trung added, in addition to tour guests, the Coco City Tour would also open to anyone who wants to take a tour around the city by double-decker buses. The tickets can be bought on buses, Cocobay information desks and any bus stops.