Illustrative image. - VNA
DANANG (Vietnam News/Asia News Network): The central city of Danang 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 Trương Thị Hong Hạnh said that since the Government fully reopened domestic and international tourism on March 15, Danang 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 Vietnam make up for the number of visitors from the traditional Northeast Asian markets, which have not yet reopened fully after the pandemic.
Danang 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 Vietnam 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 Vietnam in general and Danang in particular, according to Hạnh.
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 Trần Đức Hùng, 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.
Hạnh said that Vietjet Air’s opening of the two first direct air routes linking Danang 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 – Danang air route, she added.
Vietjet Air has also announced that the airline will operate three new routes to Danang from India’s Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad on Nov 28, Nov 29 and Dec 1, respectively.
Deputy General Director of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) Hà Văn Siêu 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 Vietnam 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 Vietnam with India.
There are also direct flights linking Vietnam's major cities such as Hanoi, Danang and HCM City with the capitals of Middle East countries.
The central city of Danang 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 VNĐ11.85 trillion (US$503.7 million), up 56.1 per cent year-on-year.
Danang 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 VNĐ1.2 trillion from tourism activities, up 483.9 per cent year-on-year.
