Da Nang (VNA) – Travel firms in the central region were updated on latest information on Japanese tourism at a conference held in Da Nang city on July 4.

At the event, held by the Japan National Tourism Organisation (JNTO) in the framework of the Vietnam – Japan Festival from July 4 to 7, Executive Director at the JNTO’s Vietnam Office Yoshida Kenji highlighted that the number of Vietnamese visitors to Japan hit a record high of over 573,000 in 2023 when the two countries celebrated their 50th anniversary of the diplomatic relations, surging 115% against 2019 – the time when the COVID-19 pandemic had not broken out yet.

During January – May, Japan hosted 284,300 Vietnamese tourists, a year-on-year i🐻ncrease of 108.5% and the arrivals have been on the rise, he said, attributing the robust result to the sound support and connectivity between diplomatic organisations and travel firms of both sides.

He said besides promoting Japanese tourism in the Vietnamese market, the JNTO wants to nudge the image of Da Nang city closer to the Japanese people with hope to bring more visitors from the East Asian country to Vietnam.

According to Deputy Director of the municipal Department of Tourism Nguyen Thi Hoai An, with an arsenal of programmes set up to bring impressive experiences to visitors, Japan has been a favoured destination for those from the city and Vietnam as a whole.

She said Japan is a traditional and stable market of the Vietnamese tourism, adding more than 65,000 Japanese made their trip to Da Nang during the five-month span, and the number of arrivals is expected to grow significantly for the whole year.

She suggested the Japanese General Consulate in Da Nang and the JNTO engage Japanese partners to Da Nang’s tourism offerings as well as encourage them to popularise the Japanese culture.

Da Nang has paid due attention to bringing the best experience to Japanese visitors with various products like Da Nang International Fireworks Festival and BRG Open Golf Championship, she said, expressing her hope that the conference will help bolster bilateral tourism cooperation.

With eff🍌orts put in place to renew products together with tourism cooperation programmes, occupancy rate on direct flights will increase, opening up oppor👍tunities to connect more destinations between the two nations, she added./.