In an attempt to make Da Nang return to the growth of domestic tourist arrivals amid growing evidence that the global coronavirus crisis is still raging, how to widely promote Da Nang as a safe, coronavirus-free destination is the most essential task Da Nang tourism industry must do for the time being. 

The publicity of Da Nang’ stature as safe destinations helps to attract more visitor arrivals. In the photo is a scene of a locally held event connecting tourism businesses taking place in Da Nang in October 2020.

Through recent Da Nang-conducted online survey on domestic travellers, it can be clearly seen that, at present, safe tourism environment becomes the most important criterion for travellers’ destination options. Once ensured, this invisible tourism product, in fact, may help Da Nang attract domestic tourists in the face of the global coronavirus crisis, and ensure that fears over another coronavirus insurgence will not discourage them to make Da Nang visits.

Director of the city-based Hoang Anh Viet Travel Company Pham Dinh Hoang showed his optimism about the active engagement of travel agencies in actively conducting tourism marketing campaigns not only right in Da Nang for the sake of a potential staycation boom here, but also in other major traditional domestic tourist markets such as Ha Noi and HCM City.

Also, Da Nang tourism sector has mapped out a set of criteria to ensure the ultimate safety for tourists.

According to Deputy Director of the municipal Department of Tourism Nguyen Xuan Binh, till date, more than 50% of hotels, over 250 tour operators and 16 tourist sites in Da Nang have signed commitments to ensure best practice to remain safe and prevent coronavirus from spreading.

Joint collaborations are being generated by the Da Nang authorities and tourism businesses to make the debut of another tourism stimulus campaign ‘the sooner, the better’ so as to lure more tourist comebacks.

Tourists visiting the Marble Mountains tourist area in October 2020

Of social note, the top priority will be given to putting forward more suitable tourism experiences for travellers looking to escape and unwind after Covid-19 passes, and considerably enhancing tour quality, and support services, rather than reducing product charges.

More recently, visitors’ concerns and worries about the safety of their Viet Nam journeys amidst the pandemic can be partly swept away thanks to the Travel Viet Nam Safety app, which was launched on mid October by the Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism.

The app is designed to make it easier for visitors to check out how safe destinations are, including digital map containing information on restaurants, hotels, apartments, entertainment places, transport providers, hospitals and pharmacies of which the owners and managers have submitted their safety status to the authorized agencies.

Also, tourists are free to send their feedback and comments on the service quality of places they visited as well as whether places met the safety standards which they laid out on the app. Last, but not least, active promotion programmes and discounts are also updated on the app to help tourists enjoy their stay in Viet Nam even more.

By NHAT HA – Translated by A.T