Hard days ahead for Da Nang tourism

Many tours to Da Nang in July and August have been cancelled as the coastal city starts social distancing measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Da Nang has been packed with local tourists returning to its beaches.

Da Nang has been packed with local tourists returning to its beaches, tourist sites and restaurants since Vietnam lifted its social distancing measures in April and the school summer holiday started. However after two men tested positive for the virus over the weekend the local government urged to stop mass gatherings at public sites, entertainment areas, karaoke bars and massage parlours.

Trade centres, accommodation and restaurants, as well as relic sites are still open, but strict measures are needed, including hand-washing stations, face masks and temperature checks, according to the decision signed by Le Trung Chinh, vice chairman of the city’s People’s Committee.

The city Department of Tourism required owners of tourist sites and hotels and travel enterprises to continue serving tourists carefully until the end of their itineraries.

The new detected cases in Da Nang came as a shock for Tran Huyen Trang, director of Hanoi-based Skysea Travel Company, and other enterprises shared the same feeling.

“There were good signs for Da Nang tourism in the past two months,” she said.

“The reduction of airfares and service prices have attracted tourists to Đà Nẵng. We designed many family holiday packages with air tickets and hotel room included.

“The room occupation rate in Da Nang this time is so high. We believe that there is a big demand in the domestic market as tourists can’t travel abroad. Da Nang is one among the most crowded destinations in the country during this period.”

Trang said though she’s shocked and sad, she immediately contacted partners of Skysea Travel Company to cancel and change itineraries for the customers. Currently, Bamboo Airways and Vietnam Airlines supported tourists to change the itinerary one time with no extra fees.

Nguyen Cong Hoan, director of Flamingo Redtours, cancelled all tours to Da Nang which were scheduled to start yesterday.

“We have many groups of tourists in Da Nang, their programmes have been changed and cut short. We will refund the entrance tickets to destinations on the route,” said Hoan.

More flights will be increased to bring tourists in Da Nang home, according to Dinh Viet Thang, director of the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam.

“The airlines have increased the flights to Da Nang to meet the demand of tourists. Now the situation becomes complicated leading to many tourists leaving,” he said. — VNS