Twenty journalists and tour operators from Hong Kong are in the central city of Da Nang for five-day FAM (familiarisation) trip to study the city's tourism, beginning on October 8.

Organised by Vietnam Airlines and Indochina Travel, the trip takes in golf courses including Da Nang Golf Club, Montgomerie Links and King's Island Golf Club, as well as other places of interest in Da Nang .

Sites visited are Da Nang 's Museum of Cham Sculpture , Ngu Hanh Son ( Five Mountains ), Non Nuoc Beach and luxury beach resorts. The trip is part of a broader plan to launch direct air service between Hong Kong and Da Nang .

Ho Quang Tuan, Deputy Director of Vietnam Airlines office in central Vietnam , said that three Hong Kong-Da Nang charter flights began operating on September 30 and October 4 and 7 on an exploratory basis.

He said the airline had been carrying between 169 and 175 passengers on its 181-seat aircraft, or 85-90 percent of its seating capacity, sending a good sign for the opening of direct service between the two destinations.-VNA