The first international tourists visit Đà Nẵng in the post-COVID-19 time. Starlux Airlines, an international airline from Chinese Taipei has resumed its direct flight from Taipei to Đà Nẵng. VNS Photo Lê Lâm

ĐÀ NẴNG — Starlux Airlines, an international airline from Chinese Taipei,  resumed direct flights between Taipei and Đà Nẵng last week, offering three flights per week and a US$219 one-way ticket price.

The city of Đà Nẵng's tourism promotion agency said the airline, which debuted the air route in 2020, decided to operate the air route after a two-year lull caused by COVID-19, and group tour or family vacations are popular options among Taiwanese and Vietnamese travellers in the post-pandemic recovery time.

The flight will take off from Taipei at 7.30 am and land at Đà Nẵng International Airport around 9.25 am. Meanwhile, the flight from Đà Nẵng will depart at 10.25 am to land in Taipei at 2.20 pm. 

The re-opening of the air route should boost investment and tourism from Chinese Taipei and cooperation in hi-tech, agriculture and information and technology in the central city. 

The city has called for investment from Taiwan in education, hi-tech farm and technology projects in the Đà Nẵng Information Technology Park. 

According to the city's Investment Promotion Centre, Chinese Taipei invested in 20 projects worth US$188 million.

Nine major airlines have officially resumed regular flights on ten air routes connecting the central city of Đà Nẵng with Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Korea, Japan and India between March and September.

International and domestic air routes served 18,000 flights with 2.9 million passengers between March and September.

The city hosted 2.7 million visitors in the first nine months this year, a 160 per cent increase on the same period last year.

Earlier this year, the centre and travel firm Klook Vietnam – a world-leading platform for entertainment, tour and ticket booking – agreed to lure tourists to Đà Nẵng through Facebook and Instagram as well as Klook's website and app and support local travel firms in digital transformation using the  Klook platform.

The city's tourism promotion centre and Traveloka Việt Nam inked an agreement on digital tourism promotion for Đà Nẵng in the post-COVID-19 early October. — VNS