As many as 250 representatives from 220 German and Austrian travel agencies are participating in a conference on tourism which opened in the central coastal city of Da Nang on April 21.

My Khe beach in Da Nang  

The event, which runs until April 22, is organised by the Vietnam Administration of Tourism (VNAT) in collaboration with the Meier Weltreisen company under the Der Touristik Group from Germany .

This year, the Meier Weltreisen company has organised familiarisation (FAM) trips surveying tourist destinations and tourism services in Vietnam .

The travel agencies gathering in Da Nang look to share views on the tourism products with the aim to set up tourism connections between Vietnam and the German and broader European markets.

The Vietnamese Government last year granted visa exemption to citizens of Germany , the United Kingdom , France , Spain , and Italy , said VNAT Market Department Director Dinh Ngoc Duc.

In 2015, Vietnam drew in 1.2 million European tourists, 149,000 of whom were Germans, up 4.9 percent compared to 2014, he added.

In order to lure more German arrivals, Da Nang will continue collaborating with the Goethe Institutes in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, to train more German-speaking tour guides, said Tran Chi Cuong, Deputy Director of the municipal Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Da Nang city, famous for its Ngu Hanh Son (Marble Mountain), Linh Ung Pagoda and various beautiful beaches, is close to world heritage sites such as Hoi An, My Sơn Sanctuary and Cham Island in Quang Nam province; the Phong Nha-Ke Bang Cave systems in Quang Binh; and the Hue monuments complex.

The city hosts 24 direct international flights and 14 chartered flights a day.

VNA