Tourists from Laos are welcomed at the Đà Nẵng International Airport after Laos Airlines resumed Vientiane-Đà Nẵng direct flights. — VNS Photo Công Thành

ĐÀ NẴNG — The central city welcomed 150 tourists from Vientiane, Laos on the first direct flight after a two-year hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The arrival signifies a promising growth in tourism, investment and trade between Laos, northeast of Thailand and central Việt Nam.

The airline began its schedule with two flights per week on Thursday and Sunday before increasing to daily flights in the future.

The group of Lao tourists will visit destinations in Đà Nẵng and the UNESCO-recognised world heritage sites in Hội An, Mỹ Sơn Sanctuary and Thừa Thiên-Huế Province.

It’s the third city that Laos Airlines has resumed its post-pandemic flights to after HCM City and Hà Nội.

Laos Airlines said it would help connect and attract more visitors from Korea and China to Việt Nam through the Vientinane-Đà Nẵng air route.

Đà Nẵng City's tourism department said the reopening of the flight would help boost tourism among world heritage sites in central Việt Nam and destinations in Vientiane, Luang Prabang, northeast of Thailand in tourism links built between Laos and Việt Nam.

The department said Laos was an important destination in the top-ten tourism market in 2022 with 10,000 tourists visiting making up 2.1 per cent of all international visitors to Đà Nẵng.

Đà Nẵng was a key hub in central Việt Nam that help connect Laos, Thailand, Myanmar and Việt Nam through the East-West Economic Corridor in promoting tourism, trade, international logistics in the region. — VNS