A consultant from the Vietnam Tourism Association commented that, not only in Da Nang, but throughout the country, tourism experienced a boom period from 2014 to 2019, with revenue increasing more than tenfold.
Da Nang stood out during that period, experiencing a 15-fold increase in growth over the 10 years from 2009 to 2019. However, that was merely a superficial period of "flourishing," thanks to a favorable overall context. After the pandemic, and facing the current economic downturn, tourism in many countries must now consider its true potential, and Vietnamese tourism, including Da Nang's, is no exception.
From the current situation to the opportunities…
Da Nang's tourism industry has experienced a period of "miraculous" growth, transforming from a "cultural niche" into a key economic driver for the locality. The number of tourists increased from less than 2 million in 2009 to over 9 million in 2019, demonstrating a significant shift in the scale of Da Nang's tourism sector.
There are two reasons for this situation. Firstly, Da Nang, in its 17 years of urban redevelopment, has become a hub of impressive economic growth and has opened up a glorious context for infrastructure and public services.
Da Nang has effectively invested in major transportation projects, infrastructure improvement plans, and improvements to the environment and people's lives, creating a situation full of opportunities and attracting tourists to explore and experience life in this city.
Secondly, the Da Nang government and businesses are very responsive, accurately grasping public demand, continuously making decisions to develop the economy and tourism, and launching numerous programs to promote the image of Da Nang, creating an attractive destination and a locality associated with events and festivals.
These two reasons, combined with an optimistic global economic outlook, widespread international exchange trends, and favorable conditions for international tourism, have created an image of thriving tourism development in general, and have particularly highlighted attractive and novel destinations like Da Nang.
Let's get to the three core issues.
However, as the overall economy declined and the pandemic led people to become more cautious about their health and tighten their spending, Da Nang immediately fell into a state of "exhaustion" in its tourism sector. It is believed that three core issues must be identified regarding Da Nang's tourism.
That is, after a period of "brilliant success," Da Nang tourism faced more profound demands for higher quality organization, immediately revealing the weakness of "lacking unique local products." This is also a common reality of the tourism industry, where outward success, attracting millions of tourists, leads to a disregard for the requirements and criteria regarding the quality of tour planning, organization, destinations, and itineraries.
The superficial image of "visiting ten places in a day" in tours has undermined the strategy of building sustainable destination systems. The quality of tours, which need to be refined and "tell tourists compelling stories," is being overlooked.
Furthermore, superficial tourism only attracts a large number of "noisy" tourists with limited spending power. Thanks to this large number of "experience-seeking" tourists, the influx is overwhelming, convincing enough for local tourism investors to eagerly rush into infrastructure investments that prioritize "quantity over quality."
The consequence is that local tourism "fails to attract specific types of tourists." As investment requires more careful and rational planning, the tourism industry is forced to reassess the needs of tourists who appreciate culture and have more sophisticated, knowledgeable, and humane requirements.
The loophole of "crowd tourism" immediately became apparent, forcing local tourism and culture to readjust, boldly select and approach tourists with a completely different mindset for experiencing tourism, one that emphasizes "learning more than playing." The number of these specific tourists is not large, but their total spending will be substantial.
Ultimately, the combination of discerning tourist requirements, the need for investment in tourism quality, and the demand to establish distinctive values are all factors that hinder many tourism businesses in Da Nang and across the country from gaining a competitive advantage in the market, and local tourism sectors inevitably encounter setbacks in their development.
Tourism products such as food, fashion, cultural events, and community relations will become standardized, catering to tourist tastes while losing the unique cultural identity, customs, and characteristics of the local people. If a bowl of Quang noodles served to tourists doesn't reflect the quality the locals are used to, and the theatrical gestures and accents of the region lose their traditional refinement, tourists will only be "taking a quick look," and tourism will naturally "bloom and wither quickly."
To revive Da Nang's tourism potential, the locality needs a great deal of focus, reassessment, and the identification of solutions. However, from the perspective of consultants, Da Nang's tourism sector urgently needs to reposition itself and rectify three core issues that are limiting, or even weakening, the locality's tourism opportunities and capabilities.
Da Nang's tourism sector needs to reassess its strengths, identify its weaknesses, and address them. Only then can Da Nang's tourism industry quickly regain its desired position, "get back on track," and continue to contribute effectively to the economic and social development of this central coastal city.
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