On Wednesday, Da Nang Party Committee Secretary Truong Quang Nghia and leaders of the municipal Tourism Association together reviewed the performance of the association over the past years, and identified the organisation’s tasks in the coming time.

Secretary Nghia speaking at the meeting

According to the association’s report, over recent years, the city has welcomed many famtrip delegations from both home and abroad to conduct surveys on attractions, tourism products and services in the locality.

Also, the association has made great efforts to develop new and attractive tourism products, and conducting tourism marketing campaigns at both home and abroad.

Chairman of the municipal Tourism Association Cao Tri Dung highlighted the significance of developing river tours, and tours to explore Da Nang Bay and local culture in a bid to increase visitor arrivals in the city.

He also underscored the necessity of organising annual international travel fairs in Da Nang in order to attract visitors to the city.

Besides, chairman Dung asked the municipal government to give a helping hand to establish a tourism promotion fund, and create a fair business environment for tour operators in the city.

He underlined the importance of closely working with neighboring localities to promote the marketing of such tourist attractions as Hai Van Pass, Sung Co Beach, Ngoc (Ruby) Island, and Co Co River.

Visitors at the Museum of Da Nang

Da Nang has seen a significant decline in the number of visitor arrivals in recent weeks amid growing concerns over the Covid-19.

Specifically, the city-based tour operators have witnessed an up to 50% decrease in bookings. Visitor arrivals to the city from Japan, South Korea and some Southeast Asian countries have dropped by between 20% and 30%.

In addition, the room occupancy rates at local accommodation establishments have gone down by between 30% and 40% compared with the same period last year. The room occupancy rates at some hotels have only reached 10% or 20%.

Tourist attractions have seen a 40% decline in visitors. Moreover, some transport service providers have faced many difficulties due to significant drops in arrivals to the city.

In order to deal with the problem, representatives from the municipal Tourism Association asked the local government to issue more preferential policies for tourism companies. Included are land lease fee reduction for hotels and resorts for 2 years, delays in tax payment in the 4^th quarter of 2019, and exemptions or reductions for admission fees at some historical and cultural relic sites.

Municipal Party chief Nghia highly appreciated the association for its remarkable achievements, and its great efforts in promoting the development of the city’s tourism sector, over recent years.

Mr Nghia remarked that the city has taken proactive measures to prevent and control the spread of Covid-19. Also, more non-tariff, and shopping areas will be created in the city in the coming time in order to encourage visitors to increase their spending during their stay periods in the locality.

The Party chief also urged local tourism businesses to promote the advertisement of Da Nang’s image as a safe destination to both domestic and foreign visitors.

By THU HA - Translated by MAI DUNG