"Ba Na Hills, constructed by Sun Group, created a landmark for tourism of Da Nang, the central region and Vietnam in general," said Phung Xuan Khanh, director of Tien Phong Travel.

Tien Phong Travel currently operates three tours to Da Nang, which also take in Ba Na Hills.

The number of people booking tours with Tien Phong to Da Nang has increased significantly from just a few hundred in 2011 to around 4,000 now.

Satisfy even the most fastidious customers

Sharing his feelings about his first trip to Ba Na Hills, Khanh said: "Ten years ago Ba Na Hills was born and was dubbed the ‘Road to paradise’. It pioneered entertainment tourism in Vietnam. When I first came here to survey destinations for Viet Travel Company in 2009, I thought this was Vietnam’s Disneyland and Vietnamese will not need to go abroad to enjoy the theme park any more."

Ba Na Hills is also known under the name "heavenly place".

The combination of interesting experiences and beautiful images shared by visitors on social networks and news reports from world-famous media outlets have created waves and began to attract visitors to Ba Na Hills, Da Nang and Vietnam.

The director of Tien Phong Travel added that without Ba Na Hills it is unlikely domestic and foreign tourists would know Da Nang, and Da Nang is unlikely to be among the world’s top 10 tourist cities today.

"As soon as I opened my own company, Tien Phong Travel, I focused on exploiting tours to Da Nang, with Ba Na Hills being a highlight of the trip."

Concurring with Khanh, Tran Thi Minh Duc, head of inbound tours at Vietrantour, said all Asian customers of her company, from the most difficult markets like Japan to South Korea, India and China, want to go to Ba Na Hills and the Golden Bridge (Cau Vang).

"In the past foreign visitors to Vietnam would give priority to Ho Chi Minh City and the Mekong Delta provinces, and then Da Nang and the north. But now, not only foreign visitors but also Vietnamese choose Da Nang due to the good infrastructure and services, and the Ba Na Hills area can please everyone."

Ba Na Hills has become a popular destination 
in Vietnam among the local as well as foreigners.

Khanh of Tien Phong Travel said: "Visitors go to Ba Na Hills because this amusement, cuisine and resort complex meets the demand of all customers, even the most fastidious ones. For instance, European visitors are very satisfied with ‘the most romantic hotel in the world’, Mercure Danang French Village Ba Na Hills, and the 20 classy restaurants, while there is total security and safety here."

Asian visitors, especially from Indonesia, the Philippines, China ,and Korea, love Ba Na Hills because they like to take a cable car to Ba Na, enjoy sightseeing at the French Village with its ancient castles, miniature Paris, the 10 brilliant flower gardens, and 21,000 sq.m Fantasy Park indoor entertainment area with the most modern games, he said.

"And of course, any Vietnamese would like to go to ‘Fairy Scene’ Ba Na Hills to enjoy it. In particular, all customers want to discover the Golden Bridge."

Branding for Da Nang, central region and Vietnam

Nguyen Tien Dat, deputy director of TransViet Travel Company, said in the last 10 years, since Sun Group developed Ba Na Hills, the number of tourists to Da Nang has exploded.

This benefits many businesses that provide travel services such as transportation, food, shopping, accommodation, and recreation.

Besides, with its attentive and professional services, Ba Na Hills has created a beautiful image for Da Nang tourism and Vietnam in general.

Touristy moment of Ba Na is in the summer, from April to September.

Visitors to Ba Na Hills are impressed by its total absence of litter and the radiant smiles of the staff, Dat said.

"We need to have large, professional amusement places like Ba Na Hills in other areas to attract tourists."

Khanh said Ba Na Hills is a great, historic and pioneering development.

"The project not only brings revenues and brand value to Sun Group, benefits other businesses and creates jobs for people in Da Nang, but also creates brand value for Da Nang and Vietnam tourism," he added.