After nearly a year of resuming air routes to attract tourists and promote tourism activities, Da Nang continues to rise to fame as an attractive destination for tourists from both home and abroad.

The opening of direct flights to Da Nang contributes to the development of tourism in the city. IN PHOTOS: Visitors are welcomed at Da Nang International Airport. Photo: THU HA

The "opening of the sky" has created favourable conditions for tourists, contributing to promoting the growth of visitors to Da Nang in particular and Viet Nam in general.

According to the city’s Tourism Promotion Center, as of late December 2022, Da Nang has 24 domestic and international routes to Da Nang. Of the figure, 15 direct international routes have been resumed and opened between the city and South Korea, India, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Cambodia and Taiwan, Hong Kong (China) with more than 4,700 flights in total.

South Korea is still the leading international market for Da Nang tourism industry with four air routes from Incheon, Busan, Deagu and Muan with the frequency of more than 60 flights/week.

In addition, the strong return of Southeast Asian tourist markets such as Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore via air has significantly contributed to the structure of international visitors to the city.

The potential Indian tourist market, which was exploited by Vietjet in 2022 with 3 direct flights from New Delhi and Mumbai, Ahmedabad, is expected to continue to grow in the near future. The number of Indian tourists staying in Da Nang in 2022 was at 20,309.

The rapid recovery from international flights shows that Da Nang is still an attractive destination for international visitors. Economic experts, who do tourism, highlighted the importance to have more "open" mechanisms and policies to create conditions for long-term cooperation partners in order to further boost post-pandemic tourism recovery.

Mr. Duong Quang Binh, Director of the Da Nang branch of the Tourism and Transport Marketing JSC (Vietravel) pointed out some shortcomings in the performance of Viet Nam's tourism industry. In particular, the country’s visa policy is not really open. Tourists have to go on a tour or apply for a visa according to the guarantee company, so the visa fee is high. Not to mention that Viet Nam announced its tourism opening policy earlier than some countries in the region, but the results were lower.

He stressed the need for Da Nang, and Viet Nam as a whole, to establish a working group specializing in restoring international tourists, with the participation of and tourism management agencies and private enterprises.

Besides, it is necessary to increase the number of visa-free countries and extend the visa-free period to 30-45 days, he added.

Mr. Binh underlined the focus should be on building a campaign to launch the alternative tourist markets, especially the Indian and Middle East markets, as well as promoting the development of the night economy in associated with indigenous culture and improving the competitiveness of each locality.

General Director of the Vietnam Travel Mart JSC Nguyen Nhu Nam remarked that travel will not be able to develop if it is separated from the aviation industry. Therefore, travel businesses really want the aviation management units and the State management agencies to have mechanisms and policies to open as many international airlines to Da Nang in particular and Viet Nam in general as possible, and at the same time, coordinate with the Civil Aviation Authority of Viet Nam to open bilateral routes to facilitate the exchange of passengers.

Visitors are seen at Da Nang International Airport

According to Chairman of the Da Nang Tourism Association Cao Tri Dung, it is necessary to soon expand the network of direct flights to potential markets, and increase the frequency of flights to important markets in order to develop sustainable tourism. This is one of the most effective and sustainable means of attracting tourists, he affirmed.

He also underlined a must-do to boost synchronous coordination between central and local tourism management agencies, airlines and tourism businesses in market promotion and destination communication, thereby gradually improving the tourism-related restrictive policies.

Deputy Director of the municipal Department of Tourism Nguyen Xuan Binh said that the Department of Tourism has regularly cooperated with the Da Nang International Airport, the AHT Company, and airlines through the signing of memoranda of understanding on promoting cooperation in market promotion and organising big events.

He, however, noted that in order to strengthen cooperation between aviation and tourism, it is necessary to have mechanisms and policies to support and attract airlines.

Specifically, he proposed the Ministry of Transport and the Civil Aviation Administration of Viet Nam issue policies to reduce 50% of ground service packages at Da Nang International Airport for international flights from the USA, European markets and Australia within 36 months from the time of operation.

There should be special support policies for international airlines in the first month of opening direct flights to Da Nang, including office rental and media promotion exemption at the local airport, Mr.Binh added.

Reporting by THU HA - Translating by M.DUNG