Danang's future seen from the tourism spearhead

High-class projects and products have contributed to creating a glorious mark for Da Nang tourism over the past 15 years. And nothing else - investing in the spearhead of tourism, raising the status of tourism continues to be the "trump card" for Da Nang to reach new heights in the next period. "Changing the throne" thanks to tourism 20 years ago, in the memory of Kim Oanh, a young girl specializing in operating tours and guiding international guests in Da Nang, the city where she was born was My Khe beach, beautiful but poor in services. Even Ba Na at that time was just deserted old French villas, house foundations among overgrown trees and grass. The land held a lot of potential but only played the role of a "transit point" bringing visitors to Hoi An, Hue... Life was therefore difficult and poor, causing many young people to choose to migrate to big cities or abroad to make a living.

Tương lai Đà Nẵng nhìn từ mũi nhọn du lịch — *Ba Na used to be a poor destination for experiences.*

But, 20 years later, Da Nang’s “new look” has completely convinced Kim Oanh to return to her hometown to live and do business. In Kim Oanh’s impression, the city of the Han River has now “changed to the point that every year you will see Da Nang wearing a different “look”. Modern and spacious buildings have appeared, restaurants, hotels and services of all kinds to choose from. Everything you need is here”.

In 2008, the total number of visitors to Da Nang was only 1.26 million, less than 1/3 of the number of visitors to Ho Chi Minh City. However, by 2019, Da Nang welcomed nearly 9 million visitors. This spectacular "change of throne" was thanks to the "invasion" of a series of well-invested tourism projects and products. The milestone marking the miraculous transformation of Da Nang was 2009 - when the Sun World Ba Na Hills tourist area came into operation.

Next is the birth of high-class projects that create a new look for tourism infrastructure such as the "world's most luxurious" resort InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort, the 5-star hotel on the Han River Novotel Danang Premier Han River, the Premier Village Danang Resort, Asia Park - now the Da Nang Downtown complex... Along with that is a series of large-scale events and festivals continuously held at Ba Na Hills, the brand of the International Fireworks Festival, the Asian Film Festival... helping Da Nang erase the image of a transit point in the past, "proudly" becoming "Asia's leading festival event destination". In the period 2009-2017, the average growth rate of tourists in Da Nang reached over 21.57%. In the 10 years from 2008 to 2018, the accommodation facilities here increased 5.4 times. In 2008, the city's tourism revenue was only about 2,000 billion VND, but by 2023, this figure had reached 28,000 billion VND, 14 times higher. In the first 6 months of 2024, Da Nang tourism earned 16,000 billion VND, an increase of more than 28.4% over the same period.

“Life-changing” thanks to… tourism Tourism has affirmed its position as the “trump card” for the city’s economic growth, and is also a key sector that helps Da Nang people “change their lives”. In 2023, the city had about 50,700 workers working in this sector. The emergence of tourist areas, entertainment complexes or resorts has contributed to creating jobs, stable income, improving the lives and quality of human resources. If in 2008, the average monthly income of people in the locality was only about 1.4 million VND, by 2023, this figure had increased by more than 25.4% compared to the whole country and led the Central region. Having worked at Ba Na Hills for nearly 10 years, Mr. Nguyen Anh Sang - Manager of the Food and Beverage Department shared: “The total number of employees at Ba Na has increased nearly 10 times compared to when I first started working. Most of them have been working here for decades and are local people. We are very grateful because here, we not only get to work but also get our lives taken care of, have a fairly good income compared to the general level, and contribute to the development of tourism in Da Nang”. While busy advising a group of Korean tourists, Ms. Tran Hanh - Director of Minh Tuan Travel Company still did not forget to smile when asked about the business situation of the enterprise: “Out of 10 customers, 9 customers have the catchphrase “I want to go to the Golden Bridge”. We, the travel agents, just hope that destinations like Ba Na will become increasingly better in quality. When Ba Na develops, we will develop as well”.

According to the assessment of Hoa Vang district, Ba Na Hills has created stable jobs for hundreds of workers, indirectly creating thousands of jobs through supporting service activities such as food, beverage, transportation, travel... helping a large number of local people have a more stable income than working in agriculture and forestry. "The presence of Ba Na Hills has helped Hoa Vang become known to many domestic and foreign tourists; people in the Central region have experienced top-class tourism and entertainment services in Vietnam and the world.", the representative of Hoa Vang district assessed. Continuing to "renew" and elevate the key economic sector The goal by 2030 is for Da Nang tourism to reach 13-14 million visitors, the contribution of tourism to GRDP will reach 32-34%, and the average GRDP per capita will reach about 200-220 million VND. This is a challenging number in the context of economic difficulties and increasing competition in the tourism sector. In fact, since reopening after the Covid-19 pandemic, Da Nang has determined the goal of "renewing" products and services and creating incentive mechanisms to mobilize resources for tourism development. Since then, Ba Na Hills has continuously brought a new breeze to tourism products with impressive works such as the Time Gate, the Moon Castle, the Eclipse Square, most recently the birth of a craft beer factory with the Sun KraftBeer brand, a series of elaborate shows such as Fairy Blossom, a series of Ba Na By Night night experiences... With a total investment of up to 39,000 billion VND, Ba Na Hills will continue to be upgraded in both experience and appearance to be worthy of an international-class tourist area. At the same time, in the city center, Asia Park has also taken on a new look with the name Da Nang Downtown - an entertainment universe with a series of large-scale shows, especially the eye-catching fireworks display every night from "Symphony of Rivers"... All contribute to creating key products for Da Nang tourism.

It can be said that investing in "products" is a classic but always effective direction for the development of the tourism industry. To have international-class tourism products, reaching the position of "Asia's new Singapore", Da Nang needs to continue to mobilize resources, attract and retain large investors. As explained by economic expert Vo Tri Thanh: "Before becoming a place worth visiting, worth living, worth investing for everyone at home and abroad, Da Nang must be a place worth visiting, worth investing for "eagles". Because the presence of large corporations will lead the market towards a classy, civilized, and modern development trend. This is a prerequisite to create breakthroughs and leaps in development for Da Nang".

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Source: https://vov.vn/doanh-nghiep/tuong-lai-da-nang-nhin-tu-mui-nhon-du-lich-post1113516.vov