Given the fact that the remaining months of the year are considered a chance to welcome international tourists, relevant agencies and tourism businesses in Da Nang are constantly striving to attract more visitors through many innovative measures.

Representatives of domestic and international tourism businesses are seen at the Korea MICE Roadshow 2024 event organised by the Korea Tourism Organisation in Viet Nam (KTO Viet Nam) in Da Nang in August 2024. Photo: NHAT HA

International visitor numbers exceed already-set targets

According to Chairman of the Da Nang Tourism Association Cao Tri Dung, the Da Nang tourism industry’s goal in 2024 is to welcome about 8.42 million visitors, 2.5 million of whom are foreigners.

By the end of August 2024, the total number of visitors served by local accommodation establishments is estimated at about 7.8 million, an increase of 33.4% from the same period in 2023, comprising of 2.8 million international visitors, up by 30%, and 5 million domestic ones, up by 35.5% over the same period. Da Nang has far exceeded the set targets im terms of tourist arrivals, which is the highlight of the city’s tourism as Da Nang tourism has a clear division into peak and low seasons.

A period from September onwards can be considered the low season during this time, the local business community is very proactive in creating attraction and attracting tourists by building products, participating in promotional activities, organising event and ensuring infrastructure maintenance, personnel streamlining and human resources training.

So as to achieve the set goals, from early on, the city’s tourism industry and businesses have taken specific programmes and action plans. Businesses are also proactive in forecasting the market and serving tourist sources.

In September, Da Nang is still welcoming many visitors from Northeast Asian markets such as South Korean visitors during the Mid-Autumn Festival, Japanese visitors during the Golden Week, a collection of four national holidays within seven days, and Chinese visitors during the National Day holiday.

Tourists from such markets as Europe, Australia and the United States often arrive in Da Nang from October to April of the following year. These international tourists often prefer to experience and explore local resources, culture and traditional villages. Currently, the signal of visitors from European and Australian markets is very good.

According to the Da Nang Tourism Promotion Centre, in the first eight months of 2024, the total number of Australian visitors staying in Da Nang reached 71,445, accounting for nearly 2.4% of the total number of international visitors to Da Nang.

For the time being, Da Nang is now focusing on deeply exploiting this tourist source market, through continuously deployed promotional trips and cooperation programmes. It is forecasted that in the last months of the year, there will be a sharp rise in Australian tourist numbers.

Indonesian and Da Nang businesses attend at a tourism-themed event held in Da Nang in July 2024. Photo: THU HA

Appropriate strategies

Representatives of local travel agencies assessed that Da Nang has a diverse tourism ecosystem and rich resources. Therefore, depending on the time, the city’s tourism industry, associations, and businesses will have different strategies to attract even more visitors, aiming at sustainability in the structure of visitor sources, renewing and building more attractive new products in depth, totally suitable for the taste of each tourist source market.

According to Mr. Nguyen Nhu Nam, the Executive Director of the Da Nang Tourism Promotion Fund, in order to attract visitors to Da Nang in the last months of the year, this agency is on track to organise promotional trips and boost connections with international businesses in the Malaysian market.

In the rest of the year, the city is expected to witness the operation of a number of new direct flights connecting with Malaysia and India. This will contribute to attracting more visitors to Da Nang during the low season, which is also a bright spot for the city’s tourism industry in the remaining months of the year.

Along with attracting tourists, businesses are also preparing to build tourism products in a very bustling manner to increase the city’s attractiveness in the eyes of tourists.

According to Mr. Ho Thanh Tu, the General Secretary of Da Nang Tourism Association cum Director of Vietadventure Co.Ltd, in addition to attracting visitors, in the remaining months of the year, travel businesses are focusing on exploiting M.I.C.E  (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions) markets

With preferential policies for this type of visitor and infrastructure, Da Nang also has an advantage in welcoming large M.I.C.E. groups.

There are a number of activities to attract tourists, notably the ‘Da Nang Tourism Festival’ scheduled to take place from October 17 to 20. This year’s event will be jointly organised by the Da Nang Tourism Association and the chapters of Travel, Hotel, Transportationand Tour Guide.

The upcoming event is expected to see the participation of nearly 100 international and 120 domestic travel businesses, and about 400 tourism service providers.

This will be an opportunity to promote the image of Da Nang tourism, introduce new tourism products developed by local businesses, attract international tourists in the remaining months of the year as well as deploy a number of incentive programmes for the domestic tourist season in 2025.

“With great efforts exerted by local businesses and tourist attractions to connect, build and renew tourism products in a sustainable manner, we believe that Da Nang will still be a destination chosen by international tourist markets in the rest of the year”, Mr. Ho Thanh Tu said.

Reporting by NHAT HA - Translating by A.THU