Da Nang (VNA) ;– BBC World News will broadcast a 30-second video marketing tourism inꦑ the central city of Da Nang on its Asia-Pa꧟cific channel, under a deal recently signed with the Da Nang Centre for Tourism Promotion.

After over three months in a “frozen” state, the domestic tourism sector is being revived with the demand stimulus programme “Vietnamese people travel Vietnam”. The programme, launched by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in early May, made the tourism landscape a little brighter. Major travel agencies and lodging facilities have prepared new quality products and services, especially promotions with heavy discounts to stimulate demand. As one of the key tourism markets of Vietnam, Da Nang has gradually restored its socio-economic activities, with tourist arrivals bouncing back. Da Nang allowed fire and water on Rong and Han river bridges to resume as a part of the activities being enacted to stimulate tourism demand. Meanwhile, the tourism sector is partnering with ministries, agencies and localities to prepare plans to welcome back international visitors once the pandemic is under control in several key markets. If Vietnam’s tourism is open to foreigners from the third quarter, the arrivals are expected to reach 6-8 million. In the fourth quarter, the figure could be 4.5-5 million. To catch opportunities from inbound market, the Da Nang Centre for Tourism Promotion signed a tourism promotion agreement with Global Book Corporation, an official communications representative of BBC World News. The video will be broadcast daily during the month, for a total of 98 times at peak hours 6-9:30am, 9:30am –5pm, 5pm-7pm, and 7pm-12pm. The images of beautiful, dynamic and charming Da Nang with a friendly and hospitable people, diverse culture, unique cuisines and stable and safe society will be promoted on the channel. BBC World News has experience in showcasing tourism for many countries and organisations. Up to 40 countries, territories and major airlines used marketing services on the channel. Countries with leading tourism potential such as Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Spain, Egypt, Greece and India marketed tourism on the channel. The channel is now available to 178 cruise liners, 53 airlines and 23 mobile service providers. According to experts, the channel has offered a deep insight into tourism of countries they experienced. With a determination to revive tourism – an area hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic – Da Nang has taken measures to pool resources for demand stimulation, toward achieving the goal of welcoming over 2.4 million visitors in the second half of the year. According to the municipal Department of Tourism, the local tourism sector reported losses of over 5.6 trillion VND (241.5 million USD) due to COVID-19. Over 35,800 people, making up 92.4 percent of the total tourism workers, were laid off or had their work suspended. On May 23, the department coordinated with the municipal Department of Industry and Trade and the Association of Tourism held a programme to boost tourism themed “Danang Thank You 2020” and launched the Da Nang Fund to develop tourism. The programme, which will run until the end of the year, offers various services such as sightseeing tours, accommodation, shopping, entertainment, health care, and transportation. To date, the programme has attracted over 150 tourism businesses in the city with the launch of numerous services such as “Da Nang Fantastic Beach” from July 17 to 31, “Da Nang Fantastic Fortnight” from November 23 to December 6, and “Da Nang Fantastic Week” from December 22 to 28. The programme targets domestic markets with direct air routes to Da Nang such as Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Can Tho, the Central Highlands, Buon Me Thuot, the northwestern region, Hai Phong, Da Lat and Phu Quoc, as well as some international markets like East Asia, Southeast Asia, Australia, the US and India when the pandemic in these countries is under control. A lot of incentives will be offered to visitors such as free admission to popular tourist sites like Ngu Hanh Son (The Marble Mountains), Cham Museum, Da Nang Museum, and Art Museum from June 1 to August 31. In 2019, Da Nang welcomed 8.69 million holidaymakers, including nearly 3.5 million foreigners, up 30.7 percent from the previous year./.