VietNamNet Bridge – Local authorities are increasing prices of admission tickets to tourist sites and scenic areas, saying that such fees could drive tourists away.

The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) has sent a dispatch to Quang Binh Province’s People’s Committee, asking that excursion fees at tourist sites in the locality be reduced.

The document was sent after many travel firms voiced their concern about overly high excursion fees.

In late December 2014, the provincial authorities decided to raise the price of the admission ticket to Thien Duong and Me Bong Con Caves from VND120,000 to VND250,000.

The new fees are VND150,000 and VND80,000 to Phong Nha and Tien Son Caves, respectively, up from VND80,000 and VND40,000.

Travel firms were caught by surprise by this. The document was signed on December 31, 2014 and came out on January 5, 2015.

However, it took effect on January 1, 2015. As a result, Vietnamese travel firms have had to pay their own money for travelers’ admission tickets.

The director of a Hanoi-based travel firm said that in general, tours are sold six months or one year ahead of departure times.

He complained that the new excursion fees would be applied to contracts signed prior to January 1, 2015.

“We signed a contract with the local natural landscapes’ board of management in October 2014 which says we will bring tourists there in March 2015. However, we have been told that we would have to bear the new excursion fees,” he said.

The Thua Thien – Hue provincial authorities have announced that from April 2015, the admission tickets to the Royal Palace in the ancient capital city of Hue would be VND150,000, or double the previous price level.

In 2014, the excursion fees to a series of tourist points, including Da Lat City in Lam Dong province, Ninh Binh and Lao Cai, were also raised, which “pushed travel firms against the wall” as the firms complained.

Effect on local economy

Nguyen Xuan Anh, an advisor to Tan Hong Cruise Travel Company, said he was surprised after visiting a lacquer painting workshop in Tien Giang Province several days ago to see that there were no visitors.

The workshop’s owner told Anh that as the products were not selling, his workers were on leave.

“Foreigners are the main buyers of lacquer paintings. However, as far as I know, the number of foreign travelers to Vietnam has dropped dramatically,” he explained.

NLD