During these days in the buildup to the 2024 traditional Vietnamese Lunar New Year Festival (Tet) break, many activities, festivals and events organised across Da Nang have attracted the attention of a large number of local inhabitants and tourists. Many international tourists enjoyed experiencing the Vietnamese activities of making traditional Vietnamese dishes and participating in traditional folk games in celebration for Tet.

Many international tourists enjoy experiencing some traditional activities and cuisine of Viet Nam. Photo: THU HA

Drawing attention of many international visitors

Over recent days, at My An beach area, at the intersection of Nguyen Van Thoai and Vo Nguyen Giap streets, the bustling and bustling atmosphere has attracted a large number of the city-dwellers and tourists, especially international ones.

Cozy, colourful old Tet spaces were highlighted at the Spring of Love programme organised by the Management Board of Son Tra Peninsula and Da Nang tourist beaches from January 26 to 29.

Many small booths displaying coconut jam and traditional cakes and ‘banh chung’ wrapping areas attracted a great deal of attention of visitors.

Such a bustling vibe was also recorded at the Tet Market that recently took place at the Museum of Da Nang with many activities such as making ‘banh chung’ (square glutinous rice cake),‘banh tet’ (cylindrical glutinous rice cake), making ‘to he’ (edible toy figurines), 'mua sap' (cheraw dance), drawing pictures on bags, introducing traditional culinary products, with the participation of many local residents and international tourists.

Many visitors who experienced it for the first time had interesting feelings about Viet Nam's traditional Tet holiday and fell more in love with the land and people here.

Introduced by his accompanying friend about the activities organised to recreate the traditional Tet atmosphere of Viet Nam, Mr. Choo Min Huang, a South Korean tourist, was excited and wanted to try making ‘banh chung’.

Having the opportunity to personally make ‘banh chung’ and hear about stories about this indispensable Tet food, Mr. Choo Min Hoang shared that he did not know much about Viet Nam's traditional Tet but really liked the atmosphere of gathering together to make traditional cakes and chat with one another in the last days of the year like this.

Similarly, Brian Hermione, a Australian tourist, was surprised to be invited to enjoy sweet, fragrant, spicy ginger jam right next to the beach. He shared: “Local residents were very friendly and enthusiastically introduced traditional Tet dishes to us and instructed us about how to enjoy them. We were very excited to enjoy a very cozy peaceful atmosphere in the last days of the year, and above all, learn more about the typical traditional cultural features of Vietnamese people”.

Not only enjoying the food and experiencing how to wrap ‘banh chung’ and ‘banh tet’, many tourists also participated in some games such as ‘mua sap’ and ‘bai choi’.

According to Head of the Management Board of Son Tra Peninsula and Da Nang tourist beaches Nguyen Duc Vu, each locality has its own traditional festival spaces; therefore, organising activities recreating ancient Tet scenes with many experiences is the desire to further diversify and enrich traditional cultural and entertainment activities, thereby effectively bringing Viet Nam's traditional Tet closer to tourists, especially international ones, during the Lunar New Year holiday break.

Tourists enjoy 'mua sap' (cheraw dance) at My An beach. Photo: THU HA

Expected rise in visitor numbers to Da Nang during Tet

According to information from the Da Nang International Airport, it is expected that during the Lunar New Year 2024 holiday break (from February 8 to February 14), there will be about 894 flights to Da Nang, an increase of 16% over the same period last year.

In the first days of the Lunar New Year 2024, the Da Nang Department of Tourism will coordinate with the Central Airport Authority, the Da Nang International Airport, the Da Nang International Terminal Investment and Operation Joint Stock Company, and national flag-carrier Vietnam Airlines to celebrate the first international and domestic flights arriving in Da Nang on this special occasion.

The first international flight from Don Muong (Thailand), operated by Vietnam Airlines, is expected to Da Nang airport at arround 6:45 a.m. on February 10, the first day of Tet. The first domestic flight from the capital city of Ha Noi, also operated by Vietnam Airlines, will land at around 7:15 a.m. on the same day.

During the Lunar New Year of the Dragon 2024, 3 cruise ship arrivals are expected to be reported at the Tien Sa port, namely two Zhao Shang Yi Dun trips on February 7 and 14 repetitively, Dream Cruise on February 9 with a total of 3,400 Chinese tourists who are likely to visit Da Nang’s famous tourist attractions.

As reported by the Department of Tourism, the room capacity of 4-5 star tourist accommodation facilities and equivalent ones are estimated at 50-55% and that of 3-star-and- below hotels is projected to be 25-30%. In addition, many tourist attractions, entertainment areas and resorts are also rushing to deploy Tet decorations. Meanwhile, many 4-5 star hotels and equivalent ones have arranged areas exclusively for guests to check-in.

Reporting by THU HA - Translating by A.THU, P.TRA