ĐÀ NẴNG — Following a six-month trial, the central city’s tourism department has officially launched a chatbot application called the Danang FantastiCity chatbot to promote easy access to information on tourism and events.

Deputy director of the department Nguyễn Xuân Bình said at the launching ceremony yesterday that the application, in English and Vietnamese, had earned positive feedback from tourists from 12 countries and territories.

A leaflet for the Danang FantastiCity chatbot. Đà Nẵng City has officially launched the chatbot to support tourists visiting the city. — VNS Photo Công Thành

Bình said the application wiould help visitors search key information including attractions, things to do, events, hotels, cuisine, directions, Automatic Teller Machines (ATM), public rest-stops and weather forecasts.

He said tourists could search the chatbot at danangfantasticity.com, fanpage Danang fantasticity, or by using messenger on Facebook, in order to avoid wasting download time.

Đà Nẵng at night. — VNS Photo Lê Lâm

Bình said the city was working on adding Japanese, Chinese and Korean language versions and more updated data.

The chatbot, an artificial intelligence technology, was used during the 2017 Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) Economic Leaders’ Week in Đà Nẵng last year.

Đà Nẵng is the first city in Việt Nam to use chatbot technology in tourism.

An overview of the Cổ Cò River in Đà Nẵng city. — VNS Photo Lê Phước Chín

According to the city’s tourism promotion centre, the chatbot fanpage has attracted over 10,000 followers, and 121,000 queries have been answered since last November.

Đà Nẵng hosted 6.7 million tourists, of which 2.3 million were foreigners, in 2017. — VNS