From May 15, all visitors to Hoi An, both foreign and Vietnamese, will have to buy entrance tickets. The cost is VND120,000 per ticket for foreigners and VND80,000 for domestic travelers, Hoi An City authorities have decided.

Khanh Huyen, 29, from Hanoi, told VietNamNet that she has been to Hoi An three times and to 12 countries. Paying for this is not unfamiliar to her. Myanmar and Thailand have begun collecting fees for visiting relics and heritage sites. She thinks that VND 80,000 per ticket is not too expensive. However, she said, the money needs to be exchanged for a good experience.

“I sometimes go to Hoi An just to drink coffee or have lunch. And so do other travelers. They come just for jogging or to see the flower lanterns. In this case, collecting the fee of VND80,000 is not unreasonable. I am willing to pay money, but I expect to have a valuable experience there,” Huyen said.

Trong Tran, a traveler from HCM City, thinks that it is unreasonable to ask visitors to buy excursion tickets. This is an effective way to keep the ancient and peaceful features – the typical characteristics of this destination. Many other tourism sites throughout the country are open for free admission, but they are overcrowded and people are not satisfied about the service quality, such as the Sa Pa and Da Lat night markets.

“I hope that Hoi An’s agencies will use the fees in an effective way to preserve the ancient town,” Trong said.

Phan Xuan Thanh, chair of the Quang Nam Tourism Association, said tourism companies and service providers were not consulted about the decision to collect fees. They just heard about the decision from the mass media. 

However, he said fee collection has been implemented since 1992 and this was interrupted because of Covid-19. Travel firms in the locality are not surprised about this.

According to Thanh, travel firms count excursion fees when designing tours to Hoi An, but travelers may not realize this. In many cases, the fee collection is not controlled well, and many travelers can evade paying for the tickets.Cao Tri Dung, chair of the Da Nang Tourism Association, agrees with Hoi An’s decision to collect fees to create space for all visitors. 

However, Dung thinks that it is too early to start collecting fees from May 15, and it would be better to organize a seminar to collect opinions from specialists, the business community, residents and travelers.

“The travel trend has changed a lot. There are many solo travelers. There are about 7-8 solo travelers out of every 10 travelers. So if they collect fees from travelers, it is highly possible that they will oppose the decision,” he said.

Furthermore, travelers come to Hoi An for different purposes, not just for sightseeing. What if they just want to have dinner? If they collect fees from these visitors, restaurants will lose customers. 

Other people just come to shop, have breakfast and coffee, and leave. If they have to pay fees, they will find the costs too high.

Dung said Hoi An should issue two different kinds of tickets.

The first type would be reserved for visitors. The price: VND 80,000-120,000.

The second time, reserved for solo travelers who come to Hoi An not to do sightseeing. They just walk, eat and shop. The ticket is just one half or one quarter of the ticket for visitors.

Nguyen Bao Phuong from Vivu Journeys (Thien Minh Tourism Group) said she supports the idea of collecting fees for sightseeing. 

However, it would be better to certify that travelers have bought sightseeing tickets and allow them to go in and out of the ancient town many times during their stay in Hoi An. This is like in/out tickets valid for many times within a certain time period.

Phuong believes this is a flexible solution, and travelers would not have to buy a ticket every time they enter the historic area, which is inconvenient and costly.

Nguyen Minh Xoang, director of Hai Van Cat Tourism, said he is not surprised about the fee because the ticket has been required for many years. 

However, he thinks Hoi An should reconsider fee collection at this time, saying that VND 80,000 is a relatively high amount for domestic travelers.

In current conditions, when people still have to tighten their purse strings after the pandemic, travelers will carefully consider about every expense item.

“I think that it would be better to welcome all visitors. Fee collection will affect income of local people, especially businessmen in the town,” Xoang said, adding that travelers may accept to pay fees for the first time when they come to Hoi An, but they won’t come back.

Meanwhile, some travel firms expressed their doubts about the feasibility of this policy. There are too many gates to the city and there are not enough checkpoints.

Linh Trang - Cong Sang - Dieu Thuy