A group of 20 journalists and tour operators from Hong Kong arrived in Da Nang on Monday on a five-day FAM (familiarisation) trip to study the city's tourism.

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 were Da Nang's Museum of Cham Sculpture, Ngu Hanh Son (Five Mountains), Non Nuoc Beach and luxury beach resorts. The trip was 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 Viet Nam, said

that three Hong Kong-Da Nang charter flights began operating on September 30 and October 4 and 7 on a exploratory basis.

He said the airline had been carrying between 169 and 175 passengers on its 181-seat aircraft, or 85-90 per cent of its seating capacity. This was seen as a good sign to open direct service between the two destinations, he added.-VNS