Central coastal city draws Russian tourists

From mid-March, the central coastal city of Danang will receive around 36,000 Russiantourists this year, according to the HCM City-based Anh Duong Tourism Company and Russian travel agency Pegas Touristik.
After the two popular destinations of Nha Trang and Mui Ne in the central coastal region, Danang is becoming a new destination favoured by Russian tourists.
Along with taking tourists to Danang, Pegas Touristik will continue to bring tourists to Nha Trang and Mui Ne through this summer, instead of only flying until May 2012 as scheduled. From the end of October 2011 to now, the Cam Ranh International Airport has welcomed 25,000 Russian tourists.
Deputy Director of the Danang Department of Culture, Sport and Tourism Nguyen Phuc Linh said that by 2015, Danang will need around 10,000 workers in the tourism sector to able to service the local tourism infrastructure system. However, tourism workers in the city now meet just one tenth of the real demand.
Currently, Danang has nearly 280 hotels with more than 8,660 rooms. In 2011 alone the number of hotel rooms increased by 2,500, and the city aims to have 17,000 rooms in 2015.
On February 11, the management board for Son Tra Peninsula and beaches in Danang kicked off programme “Spring Walk around Son Tra” with a series of sport and amusement activities and tours around the peninsula. In January 2012, 41,000 tourists visited Son Tra Peninsula, of which more than 40,000 were domestic tourists.