Bad services and a lack of entertainment are said to be the reason for Hanoi’s fall in TripAdvisor’s tourism rankings.

 A foreign tourist in the old quarters of Hanoi.

Hanoi ranked fourth among the world's top 25 destinations voted by readers of the TripAdvisor website last year, but the capital dropped four places this year.

Overcharging for services and inadequate entertainment services are working against the city's tourism. Many tourists have complained that they were tricked by taxi drivers or faced aggressive sellers.

As a result, a large number of foreign tourists have said they would not return to Hanoi. About 40 percent of tourists arriving in Hanoi quickly move on to other destinations. Local people also expressed concern and felt angry because the city's image has been tarnished.

Do Dinh Hong, director of the Hanoi's Department of Tourism, said, "When the department went into operation this year, I invited inspectors from all agencies and police to understand the importance of the tourism sector and develop a co-operation plan. We were able to find the service providers that had been annoying tourists quite quickly after the cases appeared in the media."

 Do Dinh Hong, director of the Hanoi's Department of Tourism speaking at the launching ceremony of the department last year.

Problems with poor quality tour operators and aggressive street sellers aren’t anything new.

A representative of VietranTour, said, "Hanoi needs a tourism code of conduct like in Danang. The authorities need to raise awareness among the public so local people help to protect the city's image."

London jumped five spots to become the world's top destination in TripAdvisor's 2016 Travelers' Choice Destination awards, followed by Istanbul, Marrakech, Paris, Siem Reap, Prague and Rome.

Dtinews