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| Bharata Buffet Restaurant at Sun World Ba Na Hills Resort has been granted Halal certification. Photo: NGOC HA |
Strengthening facilities
According to the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, as of May, the city had about 1,290 tourist accommodation establishments with 46,456 rooms, of which 111 establishments met 4-5 star standards and equivalent (71 establishments were officially ranked). Many high-end hotels with international brands such as InterContinental, Hyatt, Sheraton, Marriott... are managed by leading hotel groups such as IHG, Accor, Hilton.
Regarding travel services, the city has 563 operating units, including 343 international travel companies. Currently, many companies specializing in receiving CIS guests (from Khanh Hoa and Hanoi ) have opened representative offices in Da Nang such as: Crystal Bay, Anex, Rusta, Fun & Sun, Amega, Selfie Travel Vietnam. More than 6,400 tour guides, including more than 4,600 international guides, create an abundant human resource, ready to serve international tourists.
In addition, the city has 16 tourist areas and destinations, with prominent landmarks such as Sun World Ba Na Hills, Nui Than Tai Hot Spring Park, and Hoang Sa Exhibition House. For transportation, there are more than 1,600 tourist vehicles from 600 specialized transportation units, ensuring convenient travel. Regarding special experience products, Da Nang has 3 international standard golf courses, recording more than 171,200 plays in 2024, a sharp increase compared to the previous year.
The culinary system is prepared to better serve the Muslim market. The whole city has more than 30 restaurants and eateries serving Halal, Indian, or menus suitable for Muslim diners. Some locations are Halal certified such as Bharata Buffet Restaurant at Sun World Ba Na Hills Tourist Area, Halal Indrapura Restaurant... In addition, more than 20 establishments specializing in vegetarian cuisine are highly appreciated by international tourists.
The expansion of administrative units when merging Da Nang and Quang Nam, not only increases the scale of infrastructure (2 international airports, 3 seaports, 3 UNESCO heritages...) but also creates opportunities to form a complete tourism ecosystem, combining the strengths of beach resorts and historical culture. In particular, standardizing services and facilities according to Halal standards is a strategic step to approach the potential Muslim tourist market.
Towards standardization according to Halal standards, tourism service businesses are recommended to train employees to raise awareness of Islamic culture, from communication to living habits. Use multiple languages through printing information, signs, documents in Arabic, Russian... Businesses invest in modern toilets, clean hand washing areas in restaurants and hotels; coordinate with reputable consulting units to receive guidance on kitchen design, chef selection and staff training according to regulations.
In recent times, the relevant departments have organized many meetings to thoroughly grasp and inspect the reality at tourism service business units regularly to ensure the quality and readiness of the tourism service system. In particular, the city has actively coordinated with professional organizations in assessing and granting Halal certification, an important criterion for Muslim tourists.
Building suitable tourism products
For travel agencies, the acquisition of market information and the implementation of tour programs are being promoted. For example, from June, the Da Nang - Dubai reciprocal tours will be exploited by major travel agencies. Meanwhile, the CIS market is still mainly exploited from Kazakhstan through units such as Anex and Crystal Bay, with the service system being gradually completed according to actual needs.
The accommodation system keeps up with market trends. Realizing that Middle Eastern guests often have high spending levels and long stays, many 4-5 star hotels such as Novotel, Premier Village, Pullman... invest more in specialized culinary products and services such as 3-meal buffet/day, afternoon tea program, happy hour at the bar; especially Halal or Middle Eastern buffet. Some internal services such as entertainment areas, children's areas, or diverse menus are still in the process of research to upgrade to better serve the needs of this market.
At tourist destinations, digitalization of information about potential tourist markets is emphasized. Integrating Russian into QR codes for guides, printing codes on tickets and information boards, as well as posting them on the destination's digital media channels makes information easily accessible to tourists, while also showing specific attention to Russian-speaking visitors (who make up the majority of visitors from the CIS region).
To build capacity to serve new groups of visitors, the city has issued plans to improve the quality of human resources, with a focus on developing the international tourist market through new routes. The plan to develop cuisine into a unique tourism product by 2025 is part of this synchronous strategy.
In parallel, knowledge sharing programs and specialized information updates for tourism personnel are being organized. The city is compiling a list of dining establishments that meet the needs of Muslim guests to provide to tourists, and at the same time building and publishing a specialized publication “Da Nang International Food Map”, expected to be launched in June 2025.
Foreign language training, especially rare languages such as Russian and Arabic, is being implemented at tourist accommodation establishments, targeting staff and tour guides. Training content is not limited to foreign languages but also includes service thinking and service attitude, contributing to improving the tourist experience. In addition, coordination between management agencies and travel businesses is also being strengthened to overcome practical difficulties, support the provision of product information, tour guides and organize survey programs to supplement tourism products suitable to the tastes and culture of Middle Eastern and CIS tourists.
Ms. Truong Thi Hong Hanh, Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, shared: “With the orientation of developing Da Nang city into an international tourism center of the region, activities to improve service quality are being strongly implemented, along with in-depth research on the characteristics of each target market.
In the context of fierce competition in the region, methodical steps and careful preparation in terms of infrastructure, human resources and policies are helping Da Nang move closer to its goal of becoming a friendly, diverse and attractive destination in Southeast Asia. Effectively exploiting the group of visitors from the Middle East, CIS countries and the global Muslim community not only opens up growth opportunities for the tourism industry but also contributes to promoting cultural exchange, enhancing the position of Da Nang on the international tourism map.
NGOC HA
Source: https://baodanang.vn/kinhte/202506/nang-cao-nang-luc-phuc-vu-thi-truong-khach-tiem-nang-4009734/
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