Boasting many rivers stretching from rural to urban areas, Da Nang has great potential for promoting the development of inland waterway tourism.

A tourist boat on the Han River

According to the latest statistics released by the municipal Department of Tourism, there are now a total of 16 tourist boats operating in the city. Of this, 12 boats are operating on the former Han River Port - Tran Thi Ly Bridge route, whilst the remaining ones are operating on the Da Nang Bay route.

Last year, permission from the municipal authorities was given for 17 boat tour operators to build 24 new tourist boats, of which 9 have been already put into use.

These tourist boasts currently operating on the Han River offer a wide range of entertainment services, including musical performances, karaoke, drinking and eating, and Cham Apsara dancing performances.

Mr Ngo Quang Vinh, Director of the Department, remarked most of the sightseeing boat tour operators have built their new boats whose accommodation capacity and designs are in line with the city’s standards.

In addition, training courses have been organised for boat skippers and crew members in order to enhance the service quality.

Director Vinh, however, pointed out some shortcomings in the performance of inland waterway tourism.

In reality, the city is still facing a shortage of tourist boat piers and wharves, and attractive and new tourism products.

In particular, most of the existing tourist boats are only operating on the former Han River Port - Tran Thi Ly Bridge route, whilst other river routes have yet to be fully exploited.

The construction progress of the trip boat piers CT15, K20, Tuy Loan and Thai Lai is behind schedule.

Also, it usually takes so much time to grant licences for sightseeing boat tour operators to exploit the Port-Hon Chao, and the Port - the mouth of the Han River - Son Tra Peninsula routes, which has negatively affected their business activities.

Moreover, delays have been reported in conducting surveys and appealing for investment into tours to Bai Cat Vang (Yellow Sand Beach) in Son Tra District, the La Huong vegetable growing area in Cam Le District, the historical relic site K20 in Ngu Hanh Son District, and the Tuy Loan and Thai Lai villages in Hoa Vang District.

In his remarks at a meeting in late December 2018 to discuss solutions on fostering the development of inland waterway tourism, Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Dang Viet Dung asked the city’s Department of Tourism to develop more tourist sites and products on inland waterway transportation routes during the 2019-2021 period.

The focus should be on diversifying services being offered on tourist boats, enhancing professional skills of boat skippers and crew members, as well as widely advertising the river tourism tours to locals and visitors.