Central localities welcome first foreigners on New Year day hinh anh 1A corner of Son Tra peninsula (Source: VNA)
Da Nang (VNA) – Singapore’s Silk Air carried more than 160 passengers from the island state to the central coastal city of Da Nang on the first day of the New Year (January 1).

A representative from the municipal Department of Tourism presented flowers to the two first visitors, Ross Parker and his wife Corrine from Australia.

On the day, Da Nang also welcomed passengers from the Republic of Korea on the Incheon-Da Nang flight operated by Jin Air and T’way Air.

Da Nang was named among top 10 holiday destinations in Asia in 2013 and 2014 by Smart Travel Asia magazine, top 10 destinations on the rise in 2015 by the Trip Advisor website.

Last year, the city was honoured as Asia’s leading festival and event destination by the World Travel Awards.

Da Nang served more than 5.51 million visitors, up 17.7 percent from 2015. Of the figure, 1.67 million are foreigners, marking a 31.6 percent increase.

The total revenue from tourism hit 16 trillion VND (695 million USD), up 24.7 percent year-on-year.

The Da Nang airport is now operating 20 international routes, including 11 direct and 9 charter ones.

The same day, authorities of Hoi An city, a World Heritage site in the central province of Quang Nam, also greeted the first foreign visitors of the year with flowers and souvenirs./.

VNA