DANANG – Some tour operators in the coastal central city of Danang have stepped up cooperation efforts to reopen the city’s tourism industry with a focus on the domestic segment, as Covid-19 has been brought under control in Vietnam.

Nguyen Minh Xoang, general director of Hai Van Cat Travel Firm (Hava Travel), and Dang Hoa, owner of Han Giang and Tien Sa Yachts, jointly organized a trip to survey water-based nighttime tourism on the Han River last week. The trip gathered employees of the two firms and representatives of other travel companies. Though the trip is not expected to earn significant revenue, the two company leaders hoped it would revitalize the tourism industry, which has been in hibernation for months due to Covid-19, which is linked to the novel coronavirus. Speaking to the Saigon Times, Xoang stated that Hava Travel’s domestic tour team will resume regular operations on May 15 and will target family leisure tour bookings. On May 5, Hava Travel’s event team worked with customers who had booked tour services before the epidemic broke out in the country and informed them of the latest price promotions. Hava Travel will design 3-5 tours with reasonable prices to stimulate travel demand, Xoang added. Similarly, Hoa noted that his firm has resumed operations, serving tourists taking tours of the Han River at night, to help restore the city’s tourism industry, even though its turnover will not cover expenses. Other travel companies in Danang are also ramping up the launch of promotional tours and Free & Easy tours, which allow visitors to book both air tickets and accommodations, Nguyen Van Tai, chairman of Necotour, said on May 11. The municipal Tourism Department planned to organize a meeting on May 12 to collect feedback from enterprises to complete and roll out the city’s tourism stimulus program, according to Huynh Duc Trung, head of the department’s Travel Management Office.

By Nhan Tam