Cruise ship tourists are considered to be an important international tourist market for Da Nang tourism because each ship arriving at the port often carries a large number of passengers. This tourist stream has a high spending level and in order to stimulate tourist spending during their stay in Da Nang, there must be additional products and amenities to better serve them.

Da Nang is still a favourite destination for many cruise tourists in recent times. Tourists get off the cruise ship at the Tien Sa Port. Photo: THU HA

In the early days of March, cruise ships continuously brought tourists from the UK, the US, Germany, China and pther foreign markets to the Tien Sa Port. After passengers get off the train, a shuttle bus will take them to the city centre. The cruise ship passenger support point in front of the Trung Vuong Theatre, attracts the attention of many tourists. Tourist support specialists and volunteers from the Da Nang Tourism Promotion Centre are here early to assist tourists when needed. 

According to tourist support specialists, after leaving the ship, in addition to guests who have chosen to go on a tour before, those who go on free tours often learn about nearby tourist attarctions right in the city centre such as the downtown Han market, the Da Nang Cathedral and museums. The specialists task themselves with assisting tourists by giving them tourist maps and marking routes on the city’s tourism map, and at the same time, introducing visitors to some of the city's attractions and tourism products.

Ms. Michelle, a US tourist, said, “The people here were very enthusiastic about introducing us to many attractions, but because of limited time, we only chose a few products to experience such as taking cyclo rides around the city, go shopping at the Han market and enjoying local cuisine."

According to the assessment made by a representative of a travel agency, in recent years, the travel trend of cruise passengers is rejuvenating, so tourism workers need to be more flexible in building more products and increasing the experience associated with local culture for tourists. Besides, although cruise ship passengers come in large numbers, their stay time is quite short, from half a day to 2 days (if the ship stays overnight). Currently, these tourists usually go sightseeing, shopping for souvenirs at markets or supermarkets. The city needs to have products suitable for visitors’ time to stimulate them to spend more and shop more instead of only sightseeing services.

Recently, so as to meet the increasing needs and tastes of tourists, the Da Nang Tourism Promotion Centre has renewed cyclo tourism product. The fleet of 83 cyclos is uniformly designed in style, colour, size, outfit, especially the drivers’ straw hats with the Danang Fantasticity logo, contributing to bringing a more beautiful image to Da Nang.

A representative of the Da Nang Tourism Promotion Centre said that members of the tourist cyclo team meet health standards, understand traffic laws, foreign languages and have knowledge of local attractions. Every year, team members participate in the centre-held training courses on foreign languages, knowledge and skills on civilised culture and behaviour in serving tourists.

Cruise ship passengers have short stays, so they need to have appropriate tourism products. Tourists receive information support in the area in front of the Trung Vuong Theater. Photo: THU HA

Chairman of the Da Nang Tourism Association Cao Tri Dung acknowledged that the number of cruise ships continuously docking at the Tien Sa Port shows that cruise tourism is recovering and growing rapidly. This is a continuous effort made by the city as well as travel agencies in improving infrastructure and adding more tourism products to serve tourists. Each cruise usually carries a large number of passengers and has a short tour time, so operating and welcoming activities must ensure safety.

Therefore, to meet the growing trend of cruise ship passengers, the city needs to soon have a project to develop wharves for cruise ships, attract large investors, build high-end entertainment and shopping centres and attract big brands to stimulate tourist spending.

According to the plans developed by shipping companies, preliminary statistics in the first 3 months of 2024, nearly 20 cruise ship arrivals, bringing a total of nearly 20,000 visitors to Da Nang. Cruise lines that regularly bring passengers to Da Nang include Seabourn Encore; Aidabella; Azamara Journey; Zuiderdam; Resorts World One; Seabourn Odyssey; Aztania; Westerdam; Viking Cruise (Zhao Shang Yi Dun) and Dream Cruise.

Representative of Dream Cruise ship owner Vuong Van Lai said that Da Nang is one of the destinations that many international tourists want to visit and experience. Therefore, in the coming time, the Dream Cruise ship will continue to bring many international tourists (mainly Chinese ones) to Da Nang.

Deputy Director of the Department of Tourism Nguyen Thi Hoai An said that in order to ensure the safety of cruise tourists when coming to Da Nang, after receiving notices from ship receiving units, the municipal Department of Tourism issued an official document sent to relevant units to ensure security and order, tourism environment, and prevent  tourist harassment. In addition, the Department also works with shipping companies to send publications about Da Nang's attractions to tourists in advance so they can choose favourite services.

To attract tourists, the city's tourism industry increases advertising, promotion and product diversity to meet the needs, tastes, and increase the experience for tourists, said Ms. Hoai An.

Reporting by THU HA - Translating by A.THU