Between March 7 and March 9, Da Nang hosted a combined total of more than 1,400 MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences, and events) tourists. Therefore, there were really positive signs about the tourism recovery from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Da Nang is so popular with domestic and international tourists. The arrival of MICE visitors to Da Nang has drawn a great deal of attention from the media and the public aross the city. The city continues taking action to retrieve MICE tourism by issuing incentive policies for MICE travelers in a bid to attract more visitors both at home and abroad in 2022.

The support policies for MICE tourists will focus on organizing welcoming ceremonies for them, presenting souvenir gifts to them, and offering tourist attraction tickets, along with assistance and consultancy. MICE delegations consisting of 50, 150, 300 and 700 people or more will enjoy benefits from these support policies. As for delegations of 700 people or more, Da Nang leaders will in person attend welcome ceremonies for them. Also, a vehicle will be offered for guiding delegations. The intention is to make all tourists arriving in Da Nang happy or treat them like god.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had profound effects on society and ecomony while tourism sector is one of the worst affected by the impacts of COVID-19. The pandemic has caused an unprecedented crisis for Da Nang tourism industry over the past two years. Hence, MICE tourists to Da Nang are considered as "icebreakers" to drive the recovery of the tourism industry which has become one of the major sectors within the economy of the city.

The positive signs in the tourism recovery are mainly attributed to huge efforts of the city leaders and relevant agencies along with active involvement of all sectors and their careful preparations for the safe return of visitors.

However, the successful revival of the tourism industry and sucessfully turning it into the key driver of economic growth of Da Nang require a lot of work to be done. Before COVID-19, the city's tourism industry prospered due to taking advantage of its strengths, including sightseeing tours, cultural tourism, culinary tourism, eco-tourism, MICE tourism, and team building activities.

Traditional medicine doctor Nguyen Van Dung examining a foreign patient at the second facility of the Da Nang Traditional Medicine Hospital

Till date, medical tourism has not yet developed in Da Nang. Medical tourism can be defined as the process of traveling outside the country of residence for the purpose of receiving medical care. What really puts the word "tourism" in medical tourism concept is that people often stay in the foreign country after the medical procedure. Travellers can thus take advantage of their visit by sightseeing, taking day trips or participating in any other traditional tourism activities.

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the tourism sector is facing a gradual return to travel, and, as to ensure a health safety regime, there are many initiatives to develop new protocols and standards using digital technology. A shift from traditional tourism to touchless travel around the world by applying automation across the entire journey – from airport to hotel – can control the risk of infection for travellers and staff. Therefore, "touchless tourism" and medical tourism are needed to be developed in Da Nang in an attempt to tempt visitors back to the city amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

The service quality in medical tourism industry is a vital part in attracting customers. Da Nang boasts high-quality healthcare system through public and private providers. Thus, it is time for health and tourism sectors to work together to promote the development of medical tourism. No one knows yet is when the pandemic will end, and Da Nang tourism need to adapt to a post-pandemic “new normal” to survive, revive and thrive in times of COVID-19.

Reporting by THANH VAN – Translating by H.L