The upcoming months will be an exciting time for Furama Resort Danang as it prepares for the opening of a new convention & exhibition centre, which it manages.

Come May, Ariyana Convention Centre (ACC) will play host to the 6th Asia Golf Tourism Convention (AGTC) before hosting the APEC CEO Summit in November.

Situated to the south of the 198-room Furama Resorts Danang and 45-unit Furama Villas Danang, the three-storey ACC occupies an area of 4,520 sqm. Its main ballroom, with a size of 2,079 sqm, is expected to hold 1,500 guests.

Currently, MICE makes up 40% of Furama Resort Danang’s guests – the remaining is split between leisure travellers and government officials – although it is expected to increase after the opening of ACC, according to its revenue and yield manager, Duong Nguyen Vu.

For AGTC, 140 rooms have been earmarked, while the entire property is blocked out for the Summit in October (a government requirement prevents the hotel from selling any rooms during the same period).

Vu also revealed that they are in negotiations with a 3,000-persons MICE group for May 2018.

Top source markets for the hotel include South Korea, China and Japan; the UK and US also provide among the most visitors.

ASEAN numbers are still small, although he sees visitors from Philippines and Singapore.

When asked about the government’s efforts to push Danang as a tourist destination, Duong commented, “NTO promotion definitely helps, but I would love to see more direct flight routes to and from Danang.”

(Travel Weekly Asia)