Hanoi (VNA) – Da Nang is keeping efforts towards sustainable tourismrecovery in 2024, and wedding tourism is identified as an important producthelping this central city build a new tourism brand.

Overthe last five years, developing wedding tourism has been considered a strategyof many Asian countries, especially those in Southeast Asia. Making use oftheir natural advantages, special cultural values, and competitive eventorganisation costs, such destinations as Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam havebeen emerging as favourite choices for travelers from North America and Asia, thebiggest sources of wedding tourists worth 28.8 billion USD and 23 billion USD, respectively.

As a key tourism destination inthe central region and boasting marine tourism advantages, Da Nang is becomingpopular among many Indian couples. More than 20 wedding events of Indians havebeen held in this locality and neighbouring areas over the past two years.

Truong Thi Hong Hanh, Director of themunicipal Tourism Department, said Da Nang is a new and attractive place forIndian tourists thanks to a number of advantages, including marine tourism, world-famoushotel brands, interesting theme parks, night-time entertainment activities,diverse cuisine, its connectivity with some of the world’s cultural heritagesites in Vietnam, and its recognition as the Asia’s Leading Festival and Event Destination.

Thegrowth of Indian visitors in 2023 initially proved the attractiveness of this city,which welcomed over 95,000 arrivals from the South Asian country, accountingfor almost half of the total Indian tourists coming to Vietnam last year, shenoted.

The official said the local tourismsector has devised an array of measures for attracting wedding tourists such asopening direct air routes to key markets, boosting communications, and hostingwedding fairs and exhibitions.

Thisyear, Da Nang is working to establish itself as the leading destination ofwedding tourism in the domestic market while increasing in-depth communicationsin target foreign markets like India, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and China.

Itwill also build signature wedding facilities, effectively implement a pilot supportprogramme for wedding tourists, and connect with professional organisersto advertise this kind of tourism in the city to international markets, Hanh added.

Six Indian weddings are scheduled totake place in Da Nang in the first two months of 2024.

Travelcompanies also highly value Da Nang’s capacity of supplying diverse and qualityproducts and services. They said Indian visitors often stay for at least fournights at four- and five-star hotels in the city, and prefer nigh-time entertainment,pub, and spa services.

Nguyen Duc Quynh, General Director ofFurama Resort and Chairman of the Da Nang Hotel Association, said weddings offoreign tourists are often simple and intimate, but most of Indian weddings areheld for several days, even up to five days, and the number of guests couldreach hundreds.

In early 2024, Furama Resort willhost weddings of three Indian couples, and each event will last for many daysand welcome hundreds of guests, he noted, considering this as a positive sign for the city’s wedding tourism./.