Da Nang’s tourism industry has been hit hard by the coronavirus outbreak. There have been mass cancellations of bookings by Chinese travellers due to the ongoing spread of the new virus that originated in China’s Wuhan. Therefore, tour operators in the city are making great efforts to seek new international visitor markets to increase visits to the city in the coming time.

Representatives from the city branch of the Viet Nam TravelMart JSC exchanging with partners at the Indian tourism fair in January

Apart from Chinese travellers, Da Nang has seen a significant decline in visitor arrivals from South Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong over recent weeks. Also, there has been a dramatic drop in the number of domestic visitor arrivals in the city.

Chairman of the municipal Travel Association Doan Hai Dang said all tours to, and from China have been cancelled.

Director of Da Nang International Airport Administration Le Xuan Tung said all 28 flights linking with coronavirus-hit localities in China have been halted. However, up to 70 flights from other foreign countries worldwide have landed at Da Nang International Airport so far.

He added many coronavirus infection prevention and control measures have been taken at the airport. In particular, face masks and handwash liquid are offering free-of-charge to passengers at the T2 terminal of the airport. Also, staff at the airport are wearing face mask during their working time.

Visitors at Da Nang International Airport

Director Tung remarked, in 2020 and the years ahead, focus would be on working with more international airlines to offer new non-stop services connecting Da Nang with such destinations around the world as Australia, Russia, India and Japan.

In particular, Viet Nam's private budget carrier Vietjet Air has announced to launch its new non-stop service between Da Nang and Japan’s Nagoya City in July. The new service will offer more options for travellers, and boost the bilateral cooperative relations with Japan in the coming time.

Besides, some tour operators in Da Nang are planning to target new international visitor markets to avoid over-reliance on a certain market.

For example, since mid-January, the city branch of the Viet Nam TravelMart JSC participated in a tourism fair in India in order to target new visitors. Especially, the first Da Nang - New Delhi non-stop flight is scheduled to take off on 14 May.

In a similar vein, the Duy Nhat Dong Duong company has been making every effort to target new visitors from Manila, the capital of the Philippines.  

In addition, the municipal Tourism Association and some tour operators are targeting new visitors from Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, and Australia.

More new and attractive tours will be developed in a bid to increase visits to the city in the time ahead.

By THU HA, HOANG HIEP - Translated by MAI DUNG