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| Illustrative image (Photo: baodautu.vn) |
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 said 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.
Da Nang has organised programmes to introduce its attractive destinations in India, and welcoming 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 – 2025 period", is also one of the strategic markets in tourism cooperation and development of Vietnam 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 has worked with the city’s Tourism Association, Tourism Development Promotion Fund, tourist sites, travel agents, and airlines to build attractive product packages.
The city will continue developing products especially designed for these markets, especially high-class ones, including wedding and resort tourism products that suit the needs and taste 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 traveling 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 will create favourable conditions for both sides to boost tourism.
In addition, the city plans 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 are considered potential markets that 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, Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh 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 11.85 trillion VND (503.7 million USD), up 56.1 percent year-on-year.
Da Nang welcomed nearly 2.4 million visitors in the period, including 221,000 foreigners, up 125.7% and 144.9%, respectively, compared to the same period last year. It raked in over 1.2 trillion VND from tourism activities, up 483.9% year-on-year./.