Recently, whilst shopping for souvenirs at the Han market, two South Korean tourists engaged in a casual conversation during which one said that he had taken his family to Da Nang for two consecutive vacations while the other also said that he had visited the city for many times thanks to his enjoyment of admiring the beaches viewed from beautiful luxury resorts.

With an effort to refresh the destination with events, the peak tourist season in Da Nang is expected to accelerate the recovery wheel after COVID-19. Photo: BINH PHU

Not only these two guests, many South Korean nationals have more or less chosen to come to a livable city to fully enjoy their precious holidays. As revealed by these foreign tourists, when traveling, the criteria of relaxation, enjoyment, and beauty are put on the top. Self-care, beauty-care and rest are valued, and all of them Da Nang has more than enough to bring with fresh air, clean and beautiful city as well as the tourism industry that is used to pleasing East Asian guests for many years.

There is no denying that satisfying tourists is not inherently “a piece of cake”, and obviously, tempting them to come back to this coastal central Vietnamese hub of tourists for many times is even harder.

And most importantly, it a need to leave tourists with fresh and interesting travel experience so that every time they come here can be full of fun and happiness. This requires tourism service providers to always refresh themselves with new products, new events and new experience spaces.

The city, positioning itself as Asia's leading festival and event destination, has continuously organised a series of tourism events to create richness and attractiveness. Especially in the summer, the peak tourism period is in need of a strong push for the so-called ‘tourist vehicle’ to roll faster on the road to recovery.

With the orientation in this period is to do well the communication and promotion of events and products,  make the most of the existing tourism products and tap more other tourism products to attract visitors, the city, with the iconic Han River, is waiting for a series of major tourism events.

After many years of temporarily falling into COVID-triggered hiatus, this year's Da Nang International Fireworks Festival (DIFF 2023) marks the much-awaited return with the participation of many of the world's top teams. The two-month chapter is highly expected to brighten up the city's night sky every weekend.

The highlight of this summer is the 2023 ‘Wow Da Nang’ summer enjoyment festival taking place from late July till early August. According to the organisers' plan, the ‘Wow Da Nang’ will take place at Bien Dong (East Sea) Park and beaches.

The festival will make both locals and tourists pleased with a bunch of highly-inviting activities such as the Viet Nam International Food Festival, Coastal Festival, Da Nang international hot air balloon festival 2023, open international paragliding tournament, flashmob zumba, tour programme ‘Enjoy the summer of Da Nang to the fullest’.

There are also continuous events bringing bustling ambiance to the both sides of the Han River such as street music shows, ‘bai choi’ (singing whilst acting as playing cards) performances, and a youth dance art playground, folk dance and hip hop dance.

Although the city's tourism has recorded many encouraging signs over recent time, the damage left by the COVID-19 pandemic has not been fully overcome. There are still many tourism businesses facing difficulties in terms of tourists and business capital, especially, the deterioration of facilities, equipment and means of transport. In addition, there is a shortage of tourism human resources because some of them have moved to other jobs after the pandemic.

In fact, this year's peak tourist season is a tonic for Da Nang-wide tourism establishments to resume their robust status like they used to be prior to the arrival of the pandemic.

Unlike the holiday break for the National Reunification (April 30) and the National Day (September 2), which are seen as ‘short-term crops’, summer is the time when most families choose trips for travel and relaxation.

Entertainment choices for children after the end of a tense school year are also appreciated by many adults when choosing a certain travel destination. 

Events that prolong the tourist peak season such as food, lodging and entertainment services will continuously lure tourists to choose to stay in the city for many days.

Along with that, choosing different locations for the hosting of such events also contributes to bringing a festive and fun atmosphere with many new spaces, helping people have more interesting experience. And this must be what tourists and city dwellers have longed for.

Reporting by BINH PHU - Translating by A.THU