Number of cruise ship tourists to Danang increases

Despite economic difficulties, 2012 is still a successful year of Danang City’s tourism with 55 cruise ships arriving at Tien Sa Port, up 13 ships from last year.
The number of tourists coming to Danang by sea this year is estimated to reach 52,500, up 91.16%. This means that with a safe and friendly environment, good services and low costs, Danang is still among the top choices of international tourists although they have tightened spending.
Nguyen Chau Loan from the city’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism said that Saigontourist has continued to take the lead in welcoming international cruise ships to the central city this year with 31 ships and 40,750 tourists, accounting for 77.5% of the total number of cruise ship tourists visiting Danang.
Tourists coming to Danang by sea are of many nationalities, with Chinese tourists accounting for the highest with 31.3% thanks to the five-star cruise ship Super Star Aquarius arriving in the third and fourth quarters, according to the city’s border guards.
Travel agencies which often welcome cruise ships have focused on developing new tours for cruise ship tourists to better serve them. Tourists from cruise ships normally visit tourist attractions in Danang, Hue and Hoi An.
According to Tran Chi Cuong, deputy director of the department, local travel agencies have been more professional in welcoming and serving cruise ship tourists. Besides, supporting services such as post and banking have been improved and upgraded to meet the demand of tourists.
“Despite a strong growth in number of tourists, Danang has yet to exploit all of its tourism resources. New tours and products are not interesting enough in the absence of special products, which can bore tourists. Therefore, agencies need to include new destinations such as Son Tra Peninsula and Phuoc Nhon hot spring in tour programs to serve cruise ship tourists,” Cuong said.