The new e-visa policy issued by the Vietnamese government to facilitate foreigners travelling to Viet Nam along with Da Nang’s unique tourism products will help Da Nang drive the recovery of international tourism.

A staff member of the Da Nang Tourism Promotion Centre giving conical hats to international tourist arrivals. Photo: M.Q

The Vietnamese Government has decided to issue e-visas to all foreign arrivals at 52 ports of entry into Viet Nam starting from August 15, according to the latest Resolution No. 127/NQ-CP.

Prior to this decision, the country has only been issuing 30-day single-entry e-visas to citizens from 80 countries.

The new e-visa, issued by the Viet Nam Immigration Department (under the Ministry of Public Security) to foreign arrivals through the electronic payment system, will be valid for multiple entries within 90 days.

Also, the Government has issued Resolution No. 128/NQ-CP amending Resolution No. 32/NQ-CP dated March 15, 2022, regarding visa exemption for citizens of certain countries.

Accordingly, citizens from Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the UK, Russia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland and Belarus could stay in Việt Nam for 45 days instead of 15 days since their entry, regardless of passport type or purpose of entry if they meet entry requirements in line with Vietnamese laws. The Resolution has taken effect from August 15, 2023.

The new visa policy helps Da Nang, and Viet Nam as a whole, to boost its tourism industry, and drive its recovery, as well as increase attractiveness and image recognition of the city, and the country at large, as a tourism destination. The Da Nang- based tourism businesses highlighted the importance of timely issuance of the new visa policy in attracting foreign visitors as domestic tourism in the city has calmed down after a busy summer while the eight-month period from September to April is considered the "golden season" to welcome international tourists. Hence, tourism businesses have created appropriate plans and products to prepare themselves for international tourism rebound.

Starting from August 25, the Sun World Ba Na Hills tourist site has launched a 3D projection mapping show at the Sun Castle. This is a large-scale 3D mapping show which boasts the best light and image quality in Viet Nam with the use of more than forty 30,000 Lumen 4K projectors. The show allows visitors to watch resolutions higher than 8K with the usage of high-power lasers, surround sound, lighting and three-dimensional effects along with multimedia display in a bid to tell fairy  stories for visitors at the top of the Ba Na Hills.

Recently, the Than Tai Hot Springs Park has put a number of new services into operation, including the river of love, and kayaking. In addition to the development of new tourism products, tourist accommodation establishments across the city have focused on upgrading their facilities to provide better service for their guests.  The Hyatt Regency Danang Resort & Spa is a typical example, and it has just completed its multi-million dollar upgrade project, including the 3,655 square-metre Camp Hyatt designed as play area for kids, consisting of four indoor and outdoor areas.

Mrs. Mai Thi Thanh Hai, the Deputy Director of the Da Tourism Promotion Centre said that, Da Nang has identified such countries as India and Taiwan (China), Japan, Southeast Asian countries that have direct flights to the city as potential source markets to launch its destination marketing campaigns. Focus will be on promoting the launch of new flights connecting these destinations with Da Nang, organizing tour groups, participating in the 30^th edition of SATTE Delhi 2024, Asia's largest tourism fair, which will be held at India Expo Mart, Greater Noida, Delhi-NCR from 22 – 24 February, 2024, participating in tourism and airline marketing campaigns in new source markets in the countries in the Middle East, especially UAE and Qatar.

Importance will be attached to attracting tourists from  target market segments and conducting destination surveys for the development of educational and wedding tourism. Special attention will be paid to promoting the effectiveness of cooperation agreements signed between Da Nang and Vietnam Airlines, Outbox and international tourism organizations to launch tourism marketing campaigns.

The city will launch its destination marketing campaigns in Japan and South Korea in September, organize a working group to meet with India’s Indigo Airlines from September 11 to 14, attend ITB Asia which will be held in Marina Bay Sands, Singapore from 25 - 27 October. Heed will be paid to cooperating with four central localities of Quang Nam, Thua Thien Hue, Quang Tri, and Quang Binh to jointly launch tourism promotion and marketing campaign in Malaysia from October 25 to 27. Furthermore, Da Nang will conduct its destination marketing campaigns in Sydney which is the largest and most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales, along with New Zealand in October, as well in the Philippines in November.

The city will continue its efforts to develop tourism marketing strategies tailored to the specific needs of each key source market. For the South Korean market, focus will be on creating the Naver social networking website to promote Da Nang’s tourism, welcoming press trip groups, famous key opinion leaders (KOLs), increasing the introduction of Da Nang’s tourism in the Korean language on the Da Nang Tourism Portal and other social media platforms such as Instagram and Youtube. For the Indian market, heed will be paid on promoting Da Nang’s tourism on social networks and the mass media, and welcoming famtrip delegations from Indian media agencies, and more.

Reporting by MAI QUE – Translating by H.L