Danang eyes more Thai tourists

Ngo Minh Quan, deputy manager of the Danang Centre for Tourism Promotion, said it had brought 10 tourism-business operators to attend the IT&CMA (Incentive Travel & Conventions, Meetings Asia) conference held in Bangkok last week. The centre also held a workshop and business-matching session where 100 Thai companies negotiated with Vietnamese counterparts.

“Thailand is one of the top 10 popular destinations for Vietnamese, while the number of Thai visitors to Vietnam is increasing thanks to more direct flights and more seats,” he said.

Vietnam Airlines and Bangkok Airways operate a total of eight direct flights a week between Bangkok and Danang. AirAsia operates chartered flights during high season or on demand. 

Thai VietJet is planning to operate direct services between several cities in Southeast Asia. The airline launched a special one-day-only online sale last Friday called “Vietnam’s Autumn Online Friday”, offering 1 million tickets priced from zero baht on all of its domestic and international flights.

The carrier recently made its domestic-flight debut in Thailand with three routes – Bangkok-Phuket, Bangkok-Chiang Mai and Phuket-Chiang Rai – as well as announcing a new international route from Bangkok to Haiphong, Vietnam, to start in November. The airline currently operates international routes from Bangkok to Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi.

Timothy Lai Tri Thiem, director of sales and marketing at Almanity Resort and Spa Hoi An, said the hotel was opened in 2014 and focused on the wellness segment. Apart from offering 145 rooms, the hotel offers a 90-minutes free spa package per day per guest. 

He said the major source markets for the resort in Quang Nam province on Vietnam’s central coast, south of Danang, were Australia, the United Kingdom, the United States, Japan and South Korea. 

“We want more customers from Thailand. There is another hotel that offers similar products but it is located in the city of Danang,” he said.

Nguyen Son Thuy, managing director of IndoChina Unique Tourists Co, an inbound and outbound tour operator from Danang, said it expected more visitors from Thailand. The company serves 1,000 Thai tourists per month during low season and up to 2,000 during the peak period.

 

Multi-route packages 

The company is offering multi-route packages covering northern, central and southern Vietnam.

The Danang Centre for Tourism Promotion aims to double the number of Thai visitors to the city from 20,000 to 40,000 per year over the next 12 months.

Vietnam is targeting more than 8 million international arrivals this year, up from 7.9 million in 2015. The top five markets are China, South Korea, Japan, Australia and the US.

Last year, 87,877 Thai tourists |visited Vietnam. During the first half of this year, 99,611 Thais arrived, a 14-per-cent increase from the same time last year. The number is expected to jump in the final quarter of the year, which is the high season.