The central city of Da Nang is seeking to develop tourism products that are tailored to suit the taste of vacationers from India and the Middle East, which are defined as important markets for the city's tourism in the future.
Director of the municipal Department of Tourism Truong Thi Hong Hanh said that since the Government fully reopened domestic and international tourism on March 15, Da Nang has focused on promotion and communication activities to resume international flights and markets, in which India will be an important market during the post-pandemic recovery period.
Experts say India's positive open-door policy and the great travel demand of its people can help Viet Nam make up for the number of visitors from the traditional Northeast Asian markets, which have not yet reopened fully after the pandemic.
Da Nang has organised programmes to introduce its attractive destinations in India, and welcome delegations from the country to survey tourism products and services in the city.
The Middle Eastern region, especially nine nations in the project on "Developing relations between Viet Nam and countries in the Middle East – Africa for the 2016-25 period", is also one of the strategic markets in tourism cooperation and development of Viet Nam in general and Da Nang in particular, according to Hanh.
She said to attract more holiday-makers from India and the Middle East, the municipal Department of Tourism had worked with the city’s Tourism Association, Tourism Development Promotion Fund, tourist sites, travel agents, and airlines to build attractive product packages.
The city would continue developing products especially designed for these markets, especially high-class ones, including wedding and resort tourism products that suit the needs and tastes of Indian and Middle Eastern tourists.
According to Tran Duc Hung, Vietnamese Ambassador to Qatar, tourists from the Middle East and India prefer to go to private beach resorts and combine travelling with looking for commercial and investment opportunities, and therefore prefer not to travel in tour groups.
Hanh said that Vietjet Air’s opening of the two first direct air routes linking Da Nang to India’s largest and most important cities of Mumbai and New Delhi in October would create favourable conditions for both sides to boost tourism.
In addition, the city planned to send delegations to Middle Eastern countries to introduce its tourism, and work with the Qatar side to soon resume the Doha – Da Nang air route, she added.
Vietjet Air has also announced that the airline will operate three new routes to Da Nang from India’s Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad on November 28, November 29 and December 1, respectively.
Deputy General Director of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) Ha Van Sieu said that India and the Middle East were considered potential markets that would need to be prioritised in the Vietnam Tourism Development Strategy by 2030.
Statistics from Google Trends showed that the number of searches about Viet Nam from the Indian market has been increasing. This reflects the demand from India, which has a population of more than 1.3 billion and will become the most populous country in the world by 2023 with more than 1.4 billion people.
By the year-end, there will be 21 direct air routes, with over 60 flights per week, connecting Viet Nam with India.
There are also direct flights linking Viet Nam’s major cities such as Ha Noi, Da Nang and HCM City with the capitals of Middle East countries.
The central city of Da Nang has witnessed a strong post-pandemic rebound across various fields, especially in tourism and investment.
According to the municipal Department of Statistics, total revenue from accommodation and catering services in the city in the first eight months of 2022 reached an estimated VND11.85 trillion (US$503.7 million), up 56.1 per cent year-on-year.
Da Nang welcomed nearly 2.4 million visitors in the period, including 221,000 foreigners, up 125.7 per cent and 144.9 per cent, respectively, compared to the same period last year. It raked in over VND1.2 trillion from tourism activities, up 483.9 per cent year-on-year. — VNS