Da Nang has topped a list of the world’s top 10 trending destinations in 2020. The list has been released by Google based on its research methodology by comparing the number of hotel searches with travel dates in 2020 to a similar number of searches from 2018 for 2019 travel dates.

British billionaire Joe Lewis visiting the Cau Vang (Golden Bridge) on the top of the Sun World Ba Na Hills

The remaining 9 cities are Sao Paolo (Brazil), Seoul (South Korea),Tokyo (Japan), Tel Aviv (Israel), Marseille (France), Vienna (Austria), Bangkok (Thailand), Dubai (United Arab Emirates), and Perth (Australia).

This is one of happy signs for the Da Nang tourism industry in the early days of 2020. It really re-affirms the city’s firm stature as one of Viet Nam’s top tourist magnets.

According to Google’s blog post, Da Nang is very inviting to foreign visitors thank to its favourable geographical position of being a gateway to the UNESCO-recognised world heritage sites in the central region of Hue Citadel in Thua Thien Hue Province, and Hoi An and My Son Sanctuary in Quang Nam Province. In addition, the city boasts idyllic white-sand beaches and the pristine natural beauty of the Son Tra Peninsula.

For that reason, Da Nang has surpassed many famous cities in the world such as Sao Paolo (Brazil), Seoul (South Korea) or Tokyo (Japan), to stand in the Top 1.

Mr Matthias Wiesmann, General Manager of Furama Resort Danang, could not hide his happiness at the city’s top position in the ranking for top 10 trending destinations in the world of 2020.

He remarked that Da Nang is a modern and cosmopolitan city, and it is close to Hoi An and Hue cities which are imbued with indigenous culture. Also, the Da Nang boasts many amazing places to visit, eclectic and delicious food. All these things make the city become more competitive in tourism activities.

Ms Ellie Gittins from Worcestershire, the UK, said that she had spent a lot of time on searching for travelling schedules, best places to stay, prices for tourism services, and other Da Nang-related information which were shared by those who had already visited the city before travelling to the city.

“During my stay in the city, I could confidently ride a motorbike to discover tourist-packed attractions by myself. For me, Da Nang is a very beautiful city, and local residents are friendly and hospitable” said the British girl.

Foreign visitors enjoying a city tour by cyclo

Mr Nguyen Van Tai, Chairman of the Board of Director of the city-based New Connection Events and Tourism JSC (Necotour), remarked all of the above-mentioned positive results were mainly attributed to the great efforts made by the municipal government, tourism sector and tourism service providers across the city.

He also underscored the important role of both domestic and foreign investors in developing a series of high-ranking tourism products and services all over the city.

It can be seen that, over recent years, the city’s infrastructure has been improved significantly. In particular, the Da Nang International Airport has been upgraded and expanded, whilst inner-city roads have been refurbished.

Most notably, the city has seen a sharp increase in the quality and quantity of accommodation establishments.

According to the latest figures released by the municipal Department of Tourism, Da Nang is now home to 943 accommodation establishments providing 40,074 rooms in total. This shows a rise of 158 and 4,459 in the number of accommodation establishments and rooms respectively against 2018.

Specifically, many 5-star accommodation establishments have been built in the city, creating a strong foundation for the development of high-end tourism.

The majority of such hotels and resorts are under the management of international groups, including AccorHotels, InterContinental Hotels Group, Hyatt Hotel Group, Marriot Hotels, Serenity Holding, Japan's Route Inn Group, Spanish SBH Group, and Hilton Hotels and Resorts Group.

It is forecasted that, in the period 2020-2025, the city will have an additional 20,000 rooms, bringing the total number to 60,000.

Mrs Truong Thi Hong Hanh, Director of the municipal Department of Tourism, remarked Da Nang is making every effort to make tourism one of its spearhead economic sectors.

Special attention will be paid to building Da Nang into a tourism hub in Asia, and an attractive destination for international events and festivals during the 2021-2030 period, with a vision towards 2045.

Therefore, the focus will be on promoting the development of high-class marine and holiday tourism, as well as creating favourable conditions for both domestic and foreign investors to pour the money into new and special tourism projects in the city in the coming time.

Greater efforts will be made to create closer links with neighbouring localities to develop chains of common tourism services and products.

By THU HA, KHANG NINH - Translated by MAI DUNG