Reaching the regional tourism center

Many solutions were suggested by experts to develop Vietnam's tourism at the Horecfex 2025 event in Da Nang. Photo: VAN HOANG

In that general growth picture, Da Nang is considered a locality that converges many new competitive advantages, opening up opportunities to break through and become a national tourism center and regional destination.

Consolidating regional leadership

At the Exhibition and Forum “Technology, Innovation in Tourism and Services” (Horecfex 2025) held in Da Nang, Ms. Hannah Pearson, Director of Pear Anderson Tourism Consulting Company said that Vietnam is currently the only country in Southeast Asia to recover beyond 2019 in terms of international visitors.

According to Pear Anderson, countries in the region are taking advantage of many strategies to attract visitors: visa exemptions, promoting "soft power" through music , sports, and organizing international events. Singapore is typical with hosting large-scale concerts such as Taylor Swift's music tour...

Besides following this trend, Vietnam needs to take advantage of and combine many of its own advantages. Currently, there are three big opportunities to pay attention to: the Indian market with huge spending; Muslim customers with a young and potential segment; and the increasingly important trend of sustainable tourism to attract international visitors along with young human resources and increase competitiveness. "If we know how to exploit these three advantages well, Vietnam can completely consolidate its leading position in regional tourism", Ms. Hannah Pearson emphasized.

Many competitive advantages for Da Nang

Ms. Alice Swe, Business Manager of STR for South Asia and Southeast Asia (a leading provider of market data on hotel performance, monitoring supply - demand and financial indicators, providing market share analysis) said that Da Nang has many advantages to compete after the merger. Da Nang's outstanding strength is that room occupancy has always remained at a higher and more stable level than before the pandemic, showing sustainable attraction.

Meanwhile, the average room rate still has a lot of room for growth. This means that the city not only maintains a stable demand but also possesses a “golden space” to enhance value through new products, services and MICE, resort and experience packages. This is a prominent competitive advantage, helping Da Nang to surpass other destinations in the region and consolidate its position as a national tourism center.

According to the interim Chairman of the Da Nang Tourism Association, Cao Tri Dung, through analysis according to Porter's diamond model to explain the new competitive advantage of Da Nang, it shows the convergence of four key factors including: input factor conditions (central geographic location of the Central region, rich resource ecosystem, modern infrastructure and services, quality human resources), demand conditions (demand for experiential tourism, MICE, expanding international market), business structure and competitive intensity (participation of large corporations and international hotel brands), along with supporting industries - government policies (resolutions, special incentive mechanisms).

*Applying technology in the Horeca industry (hotel - restaurant - culinary services) to enhance tourism competitiveness. Photo: VAN HOANG*

The application of this model shows that the merger not only combines the potential of the two localities but also creates a "push" to raise the position of Da Nang after the merger to become a national tourism center, reaching regional and international levels. Along with the system of two international airports, an international seaport, 5-star accommodation services with more than 65,000 rooms leading the country, Da Nang almost meets the standards equivalent to many major tourism centers in Asia.

Mr. Cao Tri Dung emphasized that in the post-merger period, Da Nang needs to focus on 9 key solution groups. In particular, the top priority is to expand and upgrade infrastructure, especially with the system of hotels, resorts and MICE conference centers that meet international standards. In parallel, linking tourism development with heritage conservation, environmental protection and improving community livelihoods will create a sustainable growth model, different from other destinations.

In terms of management, the city needs to train high-quality human resources, increase the application of digital technology in operations management and tourist experience such as: VR360, AI and cashless payment.

Regarding connectivity, Da Nang aims to expand regional cooperation with Hue, Quang Ngai and international connections, especially the Vietnam - Laos corridor axis, to expand development space.

In addition, local authorities are also aiming for strong incentives to attract strategic investment, focusing on projects that create a distinctive mark. Special products such as culinary tourism, healthcare, events, international festivals and green tourism will be new growth drivers.

Finally, the indispensable pillar is to ensure safety and security for tourism with a modern rescue, medical and support infrastructure system to strengthen the confidence of global tourists.

Source: https://baodanang.vn/vuon-tam-trung-tam-du-lich-khu-vuc-3300812.html