For many years, the number of South Korean tourists to Da Nang has always led the international tourist source market, continuously accounting for 40% of the total foreign visitor arrivals to the city. This central coastal city is so beloved by South Korean tourists that they compare it to Gyeonggi Province.

Tourists from Korea shop at the Han Market, Da Nang. Photo: TRUONG TRUNG

Ms. Nguyen Phuong Lan, who lives in South Korea, believes that comparing Da Nang, the tourist hub of Central Viet Nam to Gyeonggi, the most populous province in south Korea shows familiarity, just like a fact that it is easy to meet many South Korean tourists in Da Nang. “Now if you ask 10 South Koreans where they want to live in Viet Nam, "automatically" 9 of them would choose Da Nang. Da Nang is so popular in the hearts of South Koreans.”, said Land.

Trend of travelling for relaxation and appearance enhancement

Having been married to a South Korean man for 4 years and having a cute son, Ms. Nguyen Phuong Lan, currently living in Busan, said that every time her husband's relatives come to visit, it is a lively conversation. Knowing that she is from Da Nang, many relatives and neighbours told her in detail about the places in Da Nang they visited with fun travel experience. Many people even showed their interest in this Vietnamese city not only for the landscape and cuisine, but also for the sincere communication of the city's people.

“For many South Korean people, Da Nang is more famous than the capital city of Ha Noi in the North and Ho Chi Minh City in the South because almost every South Korean has taken vacation trips in Da Nang. Some people have been to Da Nang 2 - 3 times and continuously come back during the Christmas season.”, said Ms. Lan with her pride of Da Nang

Lan’s friends and colleagues eagerly talked about their experiences during their Da Nang trips with such highly popular tourist attractions as Sun World Ba Na Hills, ‘Rong’ (Dragon) Bridge, the Marble Mountains or My Khe Beach, plus addresses of local entertainment, dining and shopping places.

Viet Nam has surpassed Japan to top the list of favourable foreign destinations of Korean tourists, according to the travel trend analysis for the third quarter of 2024, which was released by the Republic of Korea (RoK) travel firm Kyowon Tour Travel Easy on July, 2024. What is even more surprising is that in the minds of South Koreans, Da Nang is the hub of tourism when it boasts all the elements.

Many South Koreans shared with Ms. Lan that Da Nang not only has seas, passes, rivers, mountains and especially luxurious resorts that are affordable for South Koreans. Da Nang also gives a feeling of familiarity and security. Because of the feeling when going abroad, especially to large tourist hubs, many South Koreans are worried about language barriers and the feeling of insecurity.

After many years of living in South Korea and then following the trend of South Korean tourists coming to Da Nang, more than 7 years ago, Mr. Pham Khac Hieu and some of his friends settled down in Da Nang to do business. This young man from the Vietnamese northern province of Nam Dinh has operated in many fields but mainly beauty shops specialising in serving South Korean tourists arriving in Da Nang.

Mr. Hieu said that beauty streets and spas can be used as a point of recognition for South Korean tourists and the influence of this tourist market on Da Nang. Because the beauty index always plays a very important role in recognising and evaluating a person in South Korea. According to Mr. Hieu, South Korean tourists are always the most demanding when it comes to beauty. But once a brand is created and the quality of service is guaranteed, there will be long-term attachment and trust.

“South Korean beauty standards go beyond just appearance; they reflect deep cultural values and an innovative approach to self-care. So when South Koreans travel, they always choose health-related service packages. That is also the reason for the trend of South Korean resort tourism. When going abroad, they tend to relax more than travel to experience and explore. Da Nang has plenty of these things, especially the chain of high-class accommodation facilities along the coast,” Mr. Hieu analysed.

Da Nang has become a bright star in the hearts of South Korean tourists not only because it has many positive factors but also because it has completed an ecosystem that meets the resort tourism standards of this tourist market. Therefore, when stepping down to the streets of Da Nang, it is easy to meet many South Korea, not only because they account for a large proportion in Da Nang’s foreign tourist numbers but also because of the beauty culture, the culture of applying makeup before leaving the house. Because regardless of the weather, South Korean visitors wear heavy makeup, go bareheaded, and use hand fans, then go to beauty salons.

The effect of K-Pop star arrivals

For many years now, Da Nang, the city of the Dragon Bridge, has completely won the trust of South Koreans with the highest score in tourism programmes. From after 2017 to before Covid-19, Da Nang witnessed a wave of South Korean visitors growing steadily at double digits.

That many famous K-Pop stars visiting Da Nang has spread the soft power of Da Nang tourism in the eyes of South Koreans. Coming to Da Nang for the third time, Mr. Ha-jun, a resident of the capital city of Seoul, said that he first came to Da Nang in 2018. Since Covid-19, he has returned to Da Nang twice. Although he had known about Da Nang through many promotional programmes before, the motivation for him to make a Da Nang trip was after watching the reality TV show Battle Trip 2017, South Korean television entertainment programme, distributed and syndicated by KBS.

In the reality TV show that airs every Saturday night on KBS2, which has the second highest viewership rating in South Korea, two famous people, actresses and beauty queens Oh Hyun-kyung and Jung Si-ah, evaluated Da Nang with the criteria of a low-cost family destination. The episode with the participations of Oh Hyun-kyung and Jung Si-ah received 99 points from the audience, breaking all records of the programme. This not only became the highest score that year, but for many years, no tourist destination in the world has been scored higher than Da Nang by this programmr.

“Da Nang has ideal tourism conditions, suitable for the travel trends of South Koreans at a reasonable cost. The city’s suitability for budget, flight time, and sightseeing space make it especially attractive to people from all walks of life in South Korea. Perhaps because of the special attraction of the destination, Da Nang and Hoi An were chosen by the characters in the Battle Trip programme to film 4 times. I also often follow the experiences after each episode of the programme.”, said Ha-jun.

With direct flights connecting to economic centers of South Korea every day, Da Nang is Viet Nam’s gateway to the East Asia region. Because of this convenience, Da Nang has become an ideal destination chosen by many famous South Korean stars to travel, film, record game shows and take photos such as Lee Joon Gi, Lee Je Hoon, Kim Yoo Bin or KOLs in the fields of tourism and sports such as Cho Eun-bi, Kim Hye-lin, Kim Ah-Ryong.

Images of A-list stars like Lee Byung Hun taking 62 artists from the same company on vacation in Da Nang, Hyoyeon (a member of SNSD) going into an alley on Hoang Dieu Street to eat Ba Duong pancakes not only excited Vietnamese fans but also affirmed Da Nang’s solid position in the heart of many South Korean nationals.

Perhaps that’s why, just two years after opening following Covid-19, the number of South Korean visitors continued to recover up to 40% of the total foreign visitor arrivals to Da Nang. Even the number of South Korean visitors alone was equal to those from 10 other international tourist source markets.

According to Mr. Pham Van Tam, a tour guide for a company in Da Nang, many famous people visiting Da Nang is proof of the destination’s appeal. Famous people not only affirm the stature of the destination but also help to boost the future tourism trend. Given the images they posted on their personal pages with up to several million followers, Da Nang further consolidates its position as a "resort paradise" in the hearts of South Korean visitors.

Having guided a VIP tourist group having a famous South Korean star, Mr. Tam said that they were very excited about the feeling of meeting fellow countrymen everywhere, and there were also signs in many languages, including Korean. VIP guests felt comfortable and safe, so their daily fun in Da Nang appeared online. “Many of the images they posted on social media after returning home, but after each time like that, many potential tourists who come to Da Nang later usually asked about the places where these stars had checked in,” Mr. Tam said.

The Da Nang Tourism Promotion Centre has developed a market research plan based on the influence of celebrities. In addition, over the past year, this unit has also supported many prestigious South Korean film crews in choosing the city as a destination to carry out movie projects. With the popularity of Da Nang in the hearts of South Koreans, perhaps when walking down the street you can meet starts appearing in South Korean television shows.

Reporting by TRUONG TRUNG -  Translating by ANH THU