The Cầu Vàng (Golden Bridge) - one of the most famous destinations for tourists in Đà Nẵng. Photo baotintuc.vn

ĐÀ NẴNG The People’s Committee of Đà Nẵng has approved the establishment of the Đà Nẵng Tourism Promotion Fund (DTPF) with initial charter capital of VNĐ1.6 billion (nearly US$70,000).

The non-profit fund aims to help create a closer link among tourism businesses from both home and aboard and facilitate tourism promotions, especially as the city’s hospitality sector is suffering from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

It will also focus on helping local tourism firms to operate more effectively, while raising public awareness of preserving a good tourism environment and organising events to attract more tourists to the city in the near future.

From now until the end of this year, top priority will be given to conducting surveys of what Hindu and Muslim tourists are looking for from a holiday, and implementing domestic and international marketing campaigns after the COVID-19 pandemic ends.

The city has seen a strong decline in the number of visitors in the first quarter of this year amid growing concerns over COVID-19. It welcomed an estimated 1.3 million tourists in the period, down 31 per-cent year-on-year. This resulted in a yearly drop of 21 per cent in tourism revenue to an estimated VNĐ4.91 trillion. 

Director of Vietravel's Đà Nẵng branch, Đoàn Hải Đăng, said tourism businesses in the city had been badly impacted by the cancellation of bookings by domestic and foreign partners.

He said businesses (travel agencies, resorts and hotels, restaurants and destinations) still had bank loans and taxes to pay, but revenue from tours and service had seen negative growth.

In order to deal with the problem, the municipal Tourism Association has asked the local government to issue more preferential policies for tourism companies including land lease fee reductions for hotels and resorts for two years, delays for tax payment in the 4th quarter of 2019, and exemptions or reductions for admission fees at some historical and cultural relic sites, baodananang.vn reported. 

The association said it would also host a mass promotion campaign in foreign markets in the second quarter, including Russia, India and Australia, as well as preparations for rescheduling tours from China, Japan and South Korea after the epidemic eases. -- VNS