ĐÀ NẴNG — The central city’s tourism department, in co-operation with Qatar Airways, plans to launch a daily flight to meet the increasing demand between Đà Nẵng and Doha, Qatar in the near future after the weekly direct flight debuted last December.

Deputy director of the department, Nguyễn Xuân Bình said the plan was unveiled at a tourism meeting in the city last week.

Bình said it was positive plan that the two sides had been discussing in the strategy of tourism promotion among central destinations in Việt Nam and the Middle East.

Bình said the launch of the direct flight had offered more chances for tourists and overseas Vietnamese visiting central Việt Nam via Đà Nẵng international airport.

He said Đà Nẵng could be easily linked with world heritage destinations in central Việt Nam including UNESCO-recognised Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng, Huế City, Hội An and Mỹ Sơn by road, sea and railway transport systems.

The central city’s tourism department will seek closer co-operation in trade, investment and tourism promotion with travel agencies in the Middle East in the New Year, according to the tourism department.

Đà Nẵng-Doha is the only direct flight from central Việt Nam to Qatar and the Middle East, offering four weekly flights with a Boeing 787-8 aircraft.

Qatar Airways began direct services to HCM City in 2007, and launched its Hà Nội service in 2010. Currently, the airline provides twice-daily direct flights to Việt Nam’s capital city and 10 weekly flights to HCM City.

In 2017, Qatar Airways announced its interline partnership with Viet Nam-based budget carrier Vietjet Air, allowing Qatar Airways’ passengers to travel to and from points in Việt Nam not served directly by Qatar Airways using a single reservation across both airlines’ networks.

Last year, Đà Nẵng hosted 7.6 million tourists, of which 2.87 million were foreigners. — VNS