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| Hàn River in Đà Nẵng City. VNS Photo |
Based on booking data in the first half of 2018, Airbnb announced a list of the world’s top 10 destinations for the coming year, in which Danang ranks fifth in booking surges of up to 255 per cent against the same period this year while Hanoi comes ninth in the list, with a 212 per cent year-on-year increase.
In the annual Top City Destinations Ranking report issued early last month at the World Travel Market event in London, Hanoi, the 1,000-year-old city, ranks 52nd among the world’s 100 leading cities in terms of international tourist arrivals as this year it looks to welcome 4.3 million foreign travelers, up 7.5 per cent.
The central city of Da Nang which hosted the APEC Economic Leaders’ Week in November and the annual international fireworks festival in April is seen attracting nearly 2.3 million international tourists in all of 2017, up a around 37 per cent compared to a year ago, according to the Da Nang City’s Tourism Department.
The most visited cities booked on Airbnb tend to be large bustling cityscapes like Tokyo, Paris, Osaka, New York City, and London. But when looking at destinations that had doubled or more in bookings relative to 2017, they found that upcoming popular cities tend to be a little more off the beaten path.
Elsewhere in Asia, Gangneung, South Korea was the top destination for 2018 (up 2175 per cent), no doubt tied to the upcoming Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang next year. The city, located on the east coast of South Korea, is hosting all the ice events of the Games.
In the U.S., Midwestern cities like Indianapolis and Columbus have both seen over 200 per cent increases, due to the growing restaurant and nightlife scenes. To our north, cities near the Canadian Rockies such as Edmonton (+284 per cent), Fernie (+179 per cent), and Kelowna (+170 per cent) are providing travelers with a touch of mountain adventure.
In Europe, people are going coastal — seaside resort Bournemouth, with seven miles of beaches on the southern coast of England, had the second highest increase in bookings. Travelers are also headed to Bilbao in Northern Spain, famous for its Frank Gehry-designed Guggenheim Museum; Gazimagusa, an old walled city and port on the island of Cyprus; Zagreb, the capital of Croatia; and Mykonos, the classic whitewashed island in Greece.
In South America, it’s all about the sun and sand, with at least a dozen Brazilian beach towns — including Matinhos (+209 per cent), Guarapari (+205 per cent), and Ubatuba (+181 per cent) — becoming increasingly popular alternatives to the traditional destination of Rio.
Airbnb is an online marketplace and hospitality service, enabling people to lease or rent short-term lodging including vacation rentals, apartment rentals, homestays, hostel beds, or hotel rooms.
The company has received bookings for the first half of 2018 and it is pinning hopes that 2018 would be the booming year for the booking service. Airbnb can be accessed via either the Airbnb websites or mobile applications for iOS, Apple Watch, and Android. Registration and account creation is free.
Airbnb’s top 10 trending destinations are:
1. Gangneung, Korea – 2175 per cent
2. Bournemouth, UK – 353 per cent
3. Edmonton, Canada – 284 per cent
4. Indianapolis, IN – 256 per cent
5. Da Nang, Vietnam – 255 per cent
6. Columbus, OH – 254 per cent
7. Gazimagusa, Cyprus – 234 per cent
8. Bilbao, Spain – 234 per cent
9. Hanoi, Vietnam – 212 per cent
10. Matinhos, Brazil – 209 per cent
(http://vietnamfriendship.vn)
