Popular beach sports services in Danang City, particularly parasailing, kayaking and jet skiing, are seeing declining interest following a deadly accident involving two jet skis in early August and a ban on beach sports in Hoi An Town.

Parasailing on My Khe Beach, Danang City, in a swimming area

Truong Minh Cam, director of Danang Sea and Sports JSC, the only company to obtain a business license for beach sports on the beaches of Danang, confirmed that negative media reports have rattled tourists, especially domestic ones. The company now mainly serves Chinese and South Korean customers, Cam told the Saigon Times.

“The company has stopped offering the jet-ski service,” he said, adding that the firm has four new canoes, 10 jet skis and 12 parachutes in use at old sites.

The government of Hoi An City in Quang Nam Province last weekend issued a decision stopping all business activities involving jet-skiiing and other beach sports as the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has yet to release any guidelines for these sports.

However, a leader of Quang Nam Province’s Department of Tourism noted that the decision was made after the crash between the two jet skis, which left one person dead. The move is aimed at reviewing sports activities at tourist destinations such as Cham Islet, An Bang Beach and Cua Dai Beach to avoid similar accidents.

Tourism firms decried the ban as sea tourism has contributed to Hoi An’s tourism development.

“To develop sea tourism, beach sports should not be forbidden,” Le Tan Thanh Tung, deputy general director of Vitours, said, adding that the Danang government should continue to permit the development of sports services but should impose stringent regulations on operators. It is necessary to strictly punish those (jet ski riders) who enter swimming areas, Tung suggested.

Nguyen Duc Vu, head of the Management Board of Son Tra Peninsula and Danang Tourism Beaches, remarked that the accident had prompted the board, the Danang Department of Culture and Sports and relevant agencies and departments to review beach sports as these sports had attracted numerous arrivals to Danang City and a review would help regain the trust of tourists.

“We will supervise beach sports to ensure the safety of tourists,” Vu said.

SGT