Over the past nearly 2 years, under the impacts of COVID-19, Viet Nam's tourism industry, and Da Nang’s in particular, has temporarily halted welcoming visitors from international markets. In face of the closure of international routes, the city's tourism industry has still maintained relationships and connection with foreign partners through information exchanges and online seminars.

A travel webinar, held in December, 2020, on promoting Da Nang as a heritage hub in Central Viet Nam, a safe and attractive Vietnamese destination for Japanese travellers in 2021, is one of the noticeable activities to strengthen the connection with potential tourist markets. Photo: NHAT HA

In 2020, Da Nang has actively deployed a wide range of activities with the aim of connecting and keeping in touch with potential foreign tourist markets such as Japan, Singapore, India, Taiwan (China) and South Korea, and one of the most effective tools is the launching of webinars.

According to Ms. Mai Thi Thanh Hai, Deputy Director of the Da Nang Tourism Promotion Centre, during such virtual events, the sides entered into active discussions on the latest updates on the developments of COVID-19 pandemic in Viet Nam and these foreign countries. At the same time, the participating parties also introduced to one another their tourism products and recovery solutions which are expected to be released once the virus resurgence at the local scale is well controlled.

Noticeably, some seminars received a lot of attention from foreign partners. Noticeable amongst them was a travel webinar, held in December, 2020, on promoting Da Nang as a heritage hub in Central Viet Nam, a safe and attractive Vietnamese destination for Japanese travellers in 2021, which attracted 683 participants.

Jointly organised by the Da Nang Department of Tourism and the Japan Association of Travel Agents (JATA), this virtual event aims to lift up the images of Da Nang as a tourism destination for Japanese travellers in a bid to increase Japanese visitor numbers in Da Nang after Viet Nam opens its borders and resumes all international flights following the successful containment of the global COVID-19 pandemic in the near future.

At the seminar, participants involved in intensive discussions about three tourism products attractive to Japanese travellers, namely academic tourism, golf tours and M.I.C.E (Meetings-Incentives-Conferences-Exhibitions) trips.

In late April, the Da Nang Department of Tourism partnered with its counterparts in the neighbouring provinces of Thua Thien Hue, Quang Nam and Quang Binh to organise an online conference which saw the participation of representatives from more than 80 tourism businesses based in these localities, and about 100 travel agencies in Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.

Ms. Hai added that, at the beginning of May, representatives from the Da Nang Tourism Promotion Centre also participated in a webinar organised by the Vietnamese Entrepreneurs Association in France (ABVietFrance) in collaboration with the Da Nang Department of Foreign Affairs. The event aimed to promote linkages amongst businesses active in tourism and import-export industries based in Da Nang and France.

During this event, ABVietFrance representatives showed their keen interest in Da Nang’s great tourism potential and strengths introduced by the city’s participants.

As scheduled, as per proposal made by the Da Nang Tourism Promotion Centre, an online programme on introducing Da Nang tourism to the French market will take place at the end of this month.

It is expected that, in July 2021, the agency will also launch online meetings with partners which tap the Korean and Chinese markets so as to maintain cooperation until the COVID-19 is pushed back and tourist attraction drives return to normal.

Amid the complicated developments of COVID-19, in addition to helping connect with foreign tourist markets, many online meetings, implemented by the Da Nang Department of Tourism, aimed to discus how to ensure the strict practice of COVID-19 prevention and control rules in the non-smoke industry and provide important essential information for tourism associations and businesses.

Mr. Nguyen Duc Quynh, the Standing Vice Chairman of the Da Nang Hotels’ Association, said that in light of still unpredictable pandemic for the time being, it is necessary to calmly handle any difficulties and obstacles and ensure sufficient resources, and especially continue to speed up tourism communications via essential channels in a bid to continuously publicise the city’s image to domestic and international friends.

Reporting by NHAT HA – Translating by A.T