Danang loses out to neighbours

DANANG, 18 July 2012: Danang’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism said the city still lags behind other destinations in securing a high spend per visitor and longer stays.

The department deputy director, Huynh Minh Nhon, said the city needs to encourage travellers to stay longer and spend more during their vacations after surveys found that neighbouring Hoi An and Hue outpaced Danang in both earnings and length of stay.

“Travellers stay in Danang for 1.8 to 2 days and spend on shopping ,” the deputy directors said.

Russians are now a top priority for Danang’s tourism, but even though there are Russian charter flights landing at Danang, the actual stay in the city is very low.

Of the 664 Russian travellers who arrived on charter flights since the first flight, 12 May, 200 visitors opted to stay in Danang. The rest headed for Hoi An and other destinations directly on beaches.

He questioned: “Why do travellers favour Hoi An and Hue to Danang, even though Danang has an international airport and plenty of beautiful beaches?”

 

One reason could be higher hotel costs in Danang when compared to Hue and Hoi An. The two destinations also have a strong heritage profiles and UNESCO World Heritage sites.

According to the Danang Socio-Economic Research and Development Institute survey, 92.3% of foreign travellers to Danang spend less than US$2,000 dollars, 70.8% of travellers spend less than US$500, 15% spend US$500 to US$1,000. Only 6.5% of travellers spend US$1,000 to US$2,000, and only 7.6% spend more than US$2,000 when visiting Danang.