A delegation from Đà Nẵng's Culture, Sports and Tourism department joins a tourism promotion event at the Kawagane Festival in Japan. — Photos courtesy of the Đà Nẵng Culture, Sports and Tourism department

ĐÀ NẴNG — Đà Nẵng’s tourism industry has been speeding up promotion programmes for the Japanese market, as a record of 225,000 Japanese tourists visited the city in the first half of 2026.

The central city’s Culture, Sports and Tourism department reported that the Japanese market has shown great potential for Đà Nẵng’s hospitality sector, while flight bookings from Japan to Đà Nẵng have increased, particularly flights from Kansai and Tokyo to Đà Nẵng.

A Japanese girl paints on a conical hat at a Vietnamese pavilion during the Kanagawa Festival in Japan.

More than 1,000 Hội An ancient town-style lanterns were displayed at the Kanagawa Festival, while Vietnamese cuisine and traditional folk games and crafts were enjoyed by Japanese festivalgoers, the department said.

Deputy director of the department Nguyễn Thị Hội An said Đà Nẵng has hosted 12.1 million tourists, nearly half of them foreigners, in the first seven months of 2026, and it welcomed a record number of Japanese tourists to the city.

Japanese visitors play a jump rope Vietnamese folk game at the Kawagawa Festival in Japan.

She said the city’s hospitality sector has been calling for more Japanese friends to explore traditional destinations in central Việt Nam.

An said Đà Nẵng alone has 66,000 quality hotel rooms and 160 Japanese-speaking tour guides serving tourists from the island nation.

A Japanese visitor tastes a Vietnamese snack at a pavilion at the Kanagawa Festival in Japan.

Đà Nẵng has also hosted the Kanagawa Festival in the city four times, and participates in the Kanagawa Festival in Japan every year as well, she added.

The beach city often organises the annual Japan-Việt Nam Festival and cultural exchange events along with Hội An and Huế City, aiming to promote the friendly and cooperative relationship between the Japanese and Vietnamese localities.

Đà Nẵng has established cooperative relations with over 20 Japanese prefectures and cities. It has signed memoranda of understanding with six cities: Kawasaki, Sakai, Yokohama, Kisarazu, Nagasaki and Kinokawa, with Yokohama and Kawasaki both located in Kanagawa prefecture.

The Japanese Bridge in Hội An ancient town is a traditional symbol of friendship between Japan and Việt Nam from 400 years ago. Hội An still has Japanese architecture and antique houses in the Old Quarter. — VNS Photo Công Thành

Residents in Hội An ancient town continue to preserve three tombs of Japanese traders who died in the town in the 17th century, located in Cẩm Châu Commune.

Japanese Crown Prince Akishino and Crown Princess Kiko visited Đà Nẵng City and the former province of Quảng Nam as part of an official trip to Việt Nam to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Việt Nam-Japan diplomatic ties and the elevation of relations of the two countries to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

Last year 570,000 Vietnamese tourists visited Japan, with numbers forecast to reach one million in 2030. — VNS