In 2019, the tourist arrivals in Da Nang are estimated to have hit 8.7 million, up 13.4% against last year. 3.5 million of them were foreigners, up 22.5%, and the remaining 5.2 million were domestic visitors, up 8%.

As a result, the city's tourism industry earned an estimated 30,973 billion VND in revenue, a rise of 16.7% against the same period last year.

Next year, the city is likely to welcome 9.8 million visitors from both home and abroad, an increase of 12.74% compared with 2019.

The figures were released by the municipal Department of Tourism at a meeting on Thursday to review its performance in 2019 and identify its new tasks in 2020.

In his remarks at the event, municipal People’s Committee Vice Chairman Le Trung Chinh highly lauded the department’s leaders and staff for their great efforts in enhancing the quality of tourism services, as well as developing more special tourism products to increase tourist arrivals to the city.

He also pointed out some shortcomings in the tourism industry over the year. In particular, the city has still lacked of night-time entertainment services, whilst the illegal discharge of wastewater into the sea has yet to be resolved completed.

Vice Chairman Chinh also highlighted the importance of developing high-quality services, and fully tapping the river tourism development potential.

Heed should be paid to facilitating domestic and foreign investors to develop and operate tourism projects in the city effectively, and opening more non-stop international air routes connecting the city with destinations worldwide.

Also, importance will be attached to increasing the advertisement of new and special tourism products and services in the mass media to capture more attention of tourist at both home and abroad.

By THU HA - Translated by MAI DUNG