At 6.55am on Wednesday morning, a welcome ceremony for the first over 170 air passengers to set foot in Da Nang on New Year's Day took place at the city's International Airport.

Deputy Director of the municipal Department of Tourism Nguyen Xuan Binh (2nd right) presenting flowers to first international air passengers

The welcome ceremony was hosted by representatives from the Da Nang Department of Tourism, the Da Nang branch of the Airports Corporation of Viet Nam (ACV), and the Da Nang International Terminal Investment and Operation JSC (AHT).

The foreign first footers from European and Middle Eastern countries arrived on a Qatar Airways-operated flight No QR996 from Doha City.

Ms Francesca from Sweden could not hide her joy and excitement at the warm welcome by the city’s representatives

Amongst the foreign first footers were Mr Joel Olofsson from the UK and Ms Francesca from Sweden.

Ms Francesca was deeply touched by the warm welcome given by the city’s representatives.

She revealed she decided to visit Da Nang in the New Year holiday because the Vietnamese coastal city was definitely one of the highly-recommended destinations on international social networking sites. She hoped that she would have a very happy and meaningful trip in Da Nang.

The non-stop air service between Da Nang and Qatar’s Doha began operating in December 2018 with a frequency of 4 flights per week on 254-seater Boeing 787 aircraft. To date, the number of flights operating on this route has increased to 7 per week.

The service has played a vital role in helping Da Nang connect with 150 destinations in the Middle East, Western Europe, and North America, hereby diversifying the city’s international tourist markets.

By THU HA - Translated by MAI DUNG