The iconic Golden Bridge is located at Bà Nà Hills. — VNA/VNS Photo

ĐÀ NẴNG — Đà Nẵng aims to turn its southern area into a new growth pole for tourism, creating more opportunities for localities to participate in the city’s tourism development and ensuring that local communities benefit from the sector’s growth.

Touching Nature was the theme of a tourism programme recently organised in southern Đà Nẵng by the municipal Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism in collaboration with the People’s Committee of Quảng Phú Ward at a riverside check-in site along the Trường Giang River.

The event marked a new step in expanding the city’s tourism space and strengthening links between the urban centre and southern localities. Six travel companies have so far joined efforts to develop 25 tour programmes to the area.

Nguyễn Văn Hiệu, Vice Chairman of the Quảng Phú Ward People’s Committee, said individual destinations could not fully realise their potential without effective connectivity and businesses capable of organising and operating tours.

By establishing interconnected tourism networks, each destination could become a link in a broader chain, giving travel companies more options for designing itineraries, encouraging visitors to extend their stays and creating more opportunities for local communities to participate in tourism activities.

Southern Đà Nẵng has considerable advantages in its rivers, lakes, rice fields, rural villages and coastline, as well as its historical and cultural heritage, cuisine and local specialties. 

Tourism development in the area should build on these assets to create distinctive products and experiences that reflect local identities.

According to a report, during the first nine months of 2026, several destinations in southern Đà Nẵng recorded high visitor numbers.

Tăk Pổ in Trà Tập Commune welcomed nearly 7,200 visitors for overnight stays, sightseeing and experiential activities; Lộc Yên in Thạnh Bình Commune received 35,000 visitors; Tam Hải island commune attracted 42,000; the Monument to Vietnamese Heroic Mothers in Quảng Phú Ward welcomed 90,000; and Phú Ninh Lake in Phú Ninh Commune received 14,496 visitors.

Bùi Thị Chung Thủy, head of the Culture and Social Affairs Division of Tam Hải Commune, said the locality was drawing on its natural scenery and historical and cultural assets to develop tourism.

These include the site where the Quang Ánh Minh Party cell was established, the whale cemetery relic, the Bàn Than – Hòn Mang – Hòn Dứa scenic landscape, which has been recognised as a national relic, two ancient wells dating back to the Champa period, and the local whale-worshipping festival.

The commune is focusing on developing photo spots and community-based tourism, with local residents playing a central role. It is also working on a tourism development scheme for 2026-30, with a vision towards 2040.

Tour programmes currently being developed for southern Đà Nẵng cover a range of themes, including A Journey to Experience the Untouched Nature of Southern Đà Nẵng, Back to Nature – A Journey to the Legendary Ngọc Linh Peak, The Legend of Quảng Land – Peaceful Nature and A Journey to Revolutionary Heritage Sites.

Văn Bá Sơn, Deputy Director of the Đà Nẵng Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said expanding tourism towards the south would diversify products, distribute visitor flows more evenly, extend stays and spread the benefits of tourism to localities and communities.

To tap the area’s potential and advantages, the department would continue working with local authorities, travel companies and communities to refine tourism products, improve service quality, strengthen promotion and market connectivity, and enable communities to participate more deeply in the tourism service chain.

By connecting historical sites, riverside attractions, rural villages, coastal and island destinations, and mountainous areas into integrated itineraries, southern Đà Nẵng could establish a distinctive range of experiences that complement the city’s wider tourism ecosystem.

Tourism development should begin with products that can operate sustainably and consistently. 

Each locality needs to review its tourism resources, visitor reception capacity, service quality, the role of local communities and its ability to connect with travel companies.

Once these elements are clearly defined, promotion, market access and integration into the city’s broader tour programmes will become more effective.

Đà Nẵng offers a diverse range of experiences within relatively short distances. — Photo laodong.vn

New tourism space

Đà Nẵng’s Plan No. 499/KH-UBND, dated September 28, on developing key tourism areas in the south during 2026-30, identifies seven priority localities: Tam Kỳ, Quảng Phú, Hương Trà and Bàn Thạch wards, and Tam Xuân, Tam Hải and Phú Ninh communes.

The Tam Kỳ–Bàn Thạch–Hương Trà–Quảng Phú area will serve as the core of tourism development, linked to trade, services, education and the night-time economy.

Tam Xuân, Tam Hải and Phú Ninh, together with neighbouring areas, will be connected to create a diverse range of tourism products suited to the natural and cultural characteristics of each locality.

By 2030, the city aims to officially bring at least seven tourism sites into operation across the seven priority localities, with each offering at least one signature product.

It also plans to develop and launch 12-15 new tour programmes and encourage the establishment of around 20-30 community-based accommodation facilities, homestays, farmstays and other models combining accommodation with agricultural and ecological experiences.

Southern Đà Nẵng aims to welcome around 1.5-2 million visitors, with average annual growth of 18-20 per cent. Visitors are expected to stay for one to two nights, satisfaction rates are targeted at 85 per cent or higher, and the proportion of repeat visitors at 30 per cent or more.

Proposed tour themes include community-based tourism, biodiversity research, ecotourism, agricultural tourism, cultural and historical exploration, visits to revolutionary heritage sites, indigenous cultural experiences and nature discovery.

Expanding tourism towards the south is expected to create new visitor routes, bringing the area’s coastal and riverside landscapes, rural villages, historical sites and community culture more firmly into Đà Nẵng’s tourism product chain.

Lê Quốc Việt, Chairman of the Quảng Land Destination Club, said the area offered a diverse range of experiences within relatively short distances.

Sông Đầm features boating and birdwatching, Phú Ninh offers accommodation and water-based activities, Hương Trà is known for its rural landscapes and cuisine, Tam Hải for its island scenery, and Tam Xuân for its Cham heritage. Bàn Thạch and Quảng Phú, meanwhile, stand out for their historical and cultural attractions.

One of the key advantages of tourism in southern Đà Nẵng is that destinations are relatively close to one another, yet offer varied experiences as the landscapes and local stories change along the way.

Although each locality already has several recognisable tourism products, many remain relatively isolated. Greater connectivity is therefore needed to create an integrated tourism space in the south and enrich visitors’ experiences in Đà Nẵng.

Southern Đà Nẵng should not be viewed merely as an area for dispersing visitors from crowded destinations, but as a new tourism space for the city.

Nguyễn Đức Quỳnh, vice chairman of the Đà Nẵng Tourism Association, said southern Đà Nẵng could open a new chapter in the city’s tourism development by enriching its overall tourism ecosystem.

Central Đà Nẵng currently has strengths in beach resorts, meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE), urban tourism, events, premium services and international hotel infrastructure. 

Hội An, meanwhile, is renowned for its heritage, ancient town, culture and tourism-related commerce.

Southern Đà Nẵng could develop into a destination centred on unspoilt beaches, fishing villages, rivers and lakes, ecological landscapes, agriculture, community experiences, history and slow-paced holidays.

If effectively connected, these three areas could complement one another, making the overall visitor journey through Đà Nẵng, Hội An and southern Đà Nẵng more diverse, immersive and worthy of a longer stay.

Tourism development in the south is therefore not simply about promoting individual destinations, but about gradually building distinctive routes and integrated tourism product chains across Đà Nẵng.

To diversify products and improve quality by drawing on the strengths of each locality, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism plans to continue connecting local authorities, the tourism association and travel companies, while supporting training, product development and destination promotion.

Destinations that meet the necessary requirements could soon be incorporated into commercially operated tour programmes. — VNS