Launching a new air route between Da Nang and Osaka will top the agenda of a visit the administration of the Vietnamese city is scheduled to pay to its Japanese counterpart in November.

The administration of the central city of Da Nang is slated to send a small delegation to Osaka next month to beef up tourism cooperation, with a focus on opening an air route between the two cities, according to The Saigon Times Online.

The East Asian country is the third-largest source of international tourists for the central Vietnamese hub, after China and South Korea, according to the municipal Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

In 2014, Da Nang welcomed around 45,000 Japanese visitors, a sharp rise from 26,000 in 2012.

While there are many flights, both commercial and charter, between Da Nang and China and South Korea, there is only one direct air service from Narita International Airport in Tokyo.

Da Nang officials are expected to meet with tourism firms, travel associations and airlines to call for an Osaka to Da Nang service during next month’s Japan trip, The Saigon Times Online quoted Tran Chi Cuong, deputy director of the tourism department, as saying.

Eight charter flights between Da Nang and Osaka were successfully launched in August and the Vietnamese city wants to have more frequent flights to attract tourists from this important market, Cuong said.

The Da Nang administration has tasked its tourism sector with turning effective charter flights into frequent ones, and open new services to important markets, in order to boost international tourist arrivals.

The city’s tourism authorities are also working with some airlines on launching the Bangkok – Da Nang service, which is said to appeal to not only Thai tourists but also those from Australia and the EU.

“The connecting service will encourage international vacationers to continue touring Da Nang after their Thailand trips,” Cuong explained.

Da Nang, known for its beautiful beaches and proximity to the famed Hoi An old town in the neighboring province of Quang Nam, is the tourism hub of central Vietnam and has been enjoying positive growth rates in international arrivals in recent years.

Vietnam’s total number of international tourist arrivals in the first nine months of this year declined 5.9 percent from a year earlier to 5.7 million, while the figure in Da Nang rose 20 percent year on year to 850,000 tourists.