A pilot plan on managing and ensuring safety of visitors on Da Nang’s Son Tra Peninsula ran from 15 November 2019 - 15 February 2020.

A corner of the Son Tra Peninsula seen from the Helicopter Base

Under the plan, scooters and over 24-seater tourist coaches were banned from travelling to the peninsula. Scooter drivers and tourists were required to use transit vehicles at transit areas to travel to the peninsula.

All vehicles, except scooters and over 24-seater tourist coaches, were allowed to travel on a road leading to the more-than-a-century-old banyan tree which intersects Hoang Sa Street, a road leading to the Ban Co (Chessboard) Peak and the Bai Bac tourist site which intersects Yet Kieu Street, and a road leading to the Om (Hug) Stream which intersects Yet Kieu Street.

During that period, the peninsula welcomed a total of 28,839 visitors. 5,185 of them were foreigners, whilst the remaining 23,654 were domestic arrivals.

Of this figure, only 677 domestic and foreign tourists used transit vehicles to travel to the peninsula. Most of them chose transit routes No 1 and No 2 due to their reasonable transit fares and suitable time.

Transit route No 1 is APEC Parking Area - more-than-a-century-old banyan tree. Time for travelling on the route is about 60 minutes. The route No 2 is transit area at the intersection of Hoang Sa and Le Duc Tho streets - Vong Canh Hills - Helicopter Base - Ban Co Peak - heritage banyan tree - Linh Ung Pagoda - Transit area at the intersection of Hoang Sa and Le Duc Tho streets. It will take about 180 minutes to pass through the route, and stopping time at each point is between 15 and 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, the Route No 3: Transit area at the intersection of Hoang Sa and Le Duc Tho streets -Red-shanked douc langur-watching area - Sightseeing point - Red-shanked douc langur-watching area - Tien Sa T-junction - Vong Canh Hills saw low passenger numbers due to high transit fares.

A road leading to the Son Tra Peninsula

The latest survey results conducted by the municipal Tourism Department showed that tourists preferred to travel on the peninsula by motorbikes rather than by transit vehicles. The majority of tourists using transit vehicles to the tourist site were foreigners, but they complained about stuffy transit vehicles which could not give them best views of tourist sites.

Mr Tan Van Vuong, Deputy Director of the city’s Tourism Department, suggested that Jeeps should be used to transport visitors to the Son Tra Peninsula in order to facilitate them to enjoy the mesmerizing view of this place, breathe fresh air, enjoy sunshine, and pose for souvenir photos with natural settings.

Mr Nguyen Duc Vu, the Head of the Management Board of the Son Tra Peninsula and Da Nang Tourism Beaches, remarked after 3 months of the implementation, the trial has yet to meet the city’s expectations because it was carried out in the city’s tourism low season. Therefore, the trial programme will be extended until late 2020 following recent approval from the Da Nang government.

He emphasised that his unit would propose setting up one more security guard station along a road leading to the Om (Hug) Stream which intersects Yet Kieu Street, and applying a smart visitor management system to help the city increase the efficiency of managing the number of visitors and vehicles going to the peninsula in the coming time.

By THU HA - Translated by MAI DUNG