Da Nang promotes MICE and golf tours from RoK

At Ba Na Hills Golf Club (Photo: Da Nang's Tourism Department)

Da Nang - The central city of Da Nang’s tourism department has boosted key tourism products – the Meetings, Incentives, Conferencing, and Exhibitions (MICE) and golf tour service in the Republic of Korea market – as more than one million Korean tourists visited the city in the first nine months.

The RoK market has been seen as leading the number of international tourists to the beach city since 2015, and it will be a potential source for Da Nang’s tourism growth in the low season of the domestic market during the fourth quarter of the year and years to come, said the director of the city’s tourism department Truong Thi Hong Hanh.

She said the RoK tourism market is included in the department’s annual tourism promotion plans as it helps boost the industry’s growth.

The city hosted 5.8 million tourists, of whom 1.56 million were international visitors, in the first nine months. The Christmas holiday season would help increase the number of tourists from Asia and European markets, she said.

In 2023, Da Nang Golf Resort became a member of Asian Tour Destinations – the Tour's exclusive network of world-class golfing venues. Golfers can have more options playing at various golf courses during their golf trip in central Vietnam, including BRG Da Nang Golf Club, Ba Na Hills Golf Club, Vinpearl Golf Nam Hoi An, Hoiana Shore Club, and Laguna Golf Lang Co, according to the department.

Da Nang was seen as a favourite central golf tour link with Quang Nam, Quang Binh, and Thua Thien-Hue, which are home to beautiful golf courses designed by Nick Faldo, Greg Norman, Collin Montgomerie, and Luke Donald.

Ba Na Hills Golf Club, which features 18 tour-calibre holes, is the first golf course in Vietnam to allow night access to golfers, Nguyen Xuan Binh, deputy director of the department, shared.

The city successfully hosted the BRG Open Golf Championship-Da Nang 2023 and the Da Nang Golf-Tourism Festival last month with the participation of 144 top Asian golfers, including Korean Minhyeok Yang, Hyukchul Shin, and Minwoo Park.

Earlier, it provided a seamless destination for thousands of marathoners and their families at the annual Manulife Da Nang International Marathon and Vinfast Ironman 70.3 Vietnam.

Da Nang has served as a strong connection for tour links between Jeju Island, Incheon, Seoul, and UNESCO-recognised world heritage sites such as Phong Nha-Ke Bang, Hue Monuments Complex, Hoi An ancient town, and My Son Sanctuary in central Vietnam.

Korean airlines, including Asiana Airlines, Jeju Air, Jin Air, Air Busan, Air Seoul, and Tway Air, began resuming their air services from Busan, Seoul, Daegu, and Cheong Ju to Da Nang from last year.

The coastal tourism hub has seen the return of RoK visitors with nine airlines resuming their flights from Incheon, Busan, Daegu, and Muan. Meanwhile, travel agencies and businesses from Da Nang and the RoK held a business-to-business meeting in Seoul last year.

In the past years, Da Nang had hosted 12 direct and chartered flights between Korean cities and Da Nang, accommodating 1,500 passengers a week.

The RoK inaugurated its Consulate General in Da Nang in 2020, enhancing tourism and investment between the RoK and central Vietnam.

The Shilla Hotels & Resorts – a Korean resort chain – launched the five-star Shilla Monogram Da Nang to cater to Korean tourists in Da Nang and Hoi An.

To attract more tourists from Asia, the department initiated a promotional programme in New Delhi and Gurugram, India, engaging Air India, Vistara, and IndiGo for the launch of more air routes between Da Nang and India.

A report from the department indicated that 95,000 visitors from India had visited the city, making up 50% of the total number of Indian tourists visiting Vietnam in the first nine months of 2023.

The department held meetings with Motherson Air Travel, Dream Trip 4U, Luxury Vacations & Holidays, and ATG Holidays to enhance MICE and FIT (foreign independent travel) tour services to Da Nang.

The five-star Furama Resort Da Nang is already primed to host MICE events and weddings for Indian tourists. Meanwhile, the low-cost carrier Vietjet Air reintroduced seven new international routes from Da Nang to Busan and the five major cities in India – New Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, and Bangalore – along with Singapore.

The city anticipates hosting three million international visitors in the next two years, with new direct air routes between Da Nang and New Delhi.

144 golfers to compete at BRG Open Golf Championship Danang 2023 The BRG Open Golf Championship Da Nang 2023 – the first tournament of the Asian Development Tour in Vietnam – will take place at the central coastal city from August 31 to September 2, attracting 144 professional golfers.

Vietnam-RoK Festival kicks off in Da Nang The Vietnam – Republic of Korea (RoK) Festival was kicked off in the central beach city of Da Nang on September 7.