Recent years have seen a growing number of international arrivals who stay in Da Nang for doing business or visiting. Amongst, many of them have decided to settle down in the central coastal city because they find the cultural similarities between their homeland and the host city. Since then, the An Thuong Tourist Streets have been set up in Ngu Hanh Son District.

Mr Phil Mcavity and Ms Athena Vo (the Da Nang-born Canadian) having dinner at a restaurant in the An Thuong Tourist Streets

The An Thuong Tourist Streets are bounded by 4 main streets, namely Hoang Ke Viem to North, Ngo Thi Sy to the South, Chau Thi Vinh Te to the west, and Vo Nguyen Giap to the east.

This site has become the city’s ‘Pho Tay’ (Streets of Foreigners) and which offers various drinking and eating services, and attractive night-time entertainment activities for foreigners.

Eight years ago, Mr Sakai, who was a chef in Tokyo, Japan, came to Viet Nam to seek business opportunities. He, then, decided to settle down in the S-shaped country.

Mr Sakai explained the reason for opening a chain of Japanese-style restaurants in the An Thuong Tourist Streets was to realise his startup dream. In addition, his intention is to bring the taste of home food to Japanese expats in the city, as well as advertise Japanese culinary culture to Vietnamese people.

According to Mr Sakai, doing culinary business in the An Thuong Tourist Streets is more convenient than in other Vietnamese localities. His reason is that raw materials for the food industry in Da Nang are always fresh, and diverse.

The Japanese owner remarked “Customers from Japan account for between 40% and 50% of the total number of visitors to my restaurants, and Vietnamese people only 10%”.

In addition to Japanese-style restaurants, the An Thuong Tourist Streets are now home to many South Korean-owned restaurants. Most interestingly, most of these restaurants’ dishes are prepared by indigenous chefs, therefore keeping the recipes and flavour from ‘the country of kimchi’.

Also, there are many mini supermarkets selling a variety of South Korean-imported goods such as kimchi, instant noodles, canned fish, seaweed, spicy sauce, and soju wine.

The majority of staff members at South Korean restaurants or mini supermarkets can communicate fluently in South Korean.

According to many foreigners, the An Thuong Tourist Streets boast a lot of potential for business and trading activities, so they have chosen this place to do business.

Mr Meeraj Chawua, the owner of an Indian restaurant, said the number of Indian people who have done business in Da Nang is lower than that from other foreign countries. However, the good thing is that Indian people are willing to support each other.

“After nearly two years of living in Da Nang, I find it very convenient to do businesses activities in the city, especially in the An Thuong Tourist Streets. This area is a great place to discover the beauty of the central coast city” he emphasised.

The Indian businessman suggested that the municipal authorities should accelerate the upgrade and expansion of the An Thuong area in the coming time in order to increase foreign tourist arrivals in the city.

Meanwhile, Mr Phil Mcavity from Canada said this was the first time that he had visited Da Nang. He was really attracted by the city’s pleasant weather, its beautiful beaches, and its perfect cuisine.

As for Jung Soo Young from Busan, South Korea, she said she had spent a lot of time on searching for all Da Nang-related information. Therefore, as soon as she set foot in the city, she felt Da Nang familiar and close to her home.

“At present, there are many non-stop flights connecting Da Nang and South Korean localities. Therefore, I believe that Da Nang will see growing foreign tourist arrivals from South Korean in the near future”, Jung Soo Young affirmed.

By TRONG HUNG - Translated by MAI DUNG