The city of
Hoi An
in Vietnam, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, will start charging
an entrance fee
of up to $5.12
from May 15
to tourists who visit its historic center in order to help to preserve the town.
Foreign visitors
will
have to pay an entrance fee of 120,000 dong (about 5.12 dollars or 4.67 euros), while Vietnamese tourists will have to pay 80,000 dong (about 3.41 dollars or 3.11 euros), according to Tuoi. three.
The authorities of the city, located in the
central region of the country
, indicated that the funds will be used to
improve infrastructure, restore historical monuments and organize events
in this town.
One of the colorful streets of the Vietnamese city.
Photo: Shutterstock
Currently, some monuments and historical places in the city, in the province of Quang Nam, already charge admission to tourists.
Hoi An, declared a World Heritage Site in 1999, is known for its
picturesque streets
, temples, traditional Vietnamese architecture and boat tours.
One of the most attractive destinations for tourists.
Photo Shutterstock
What people say
The measure, adopted in full recovery of tourism after the covid-19 pandemic, has provoked
reactions against and in favor
among Vietnamese and foreigners.
"I can understand levying a fee, but why the difference between locals and (foreign) tourists?" Christopher Law wrote in commenting on the story on VN Express.
The city will begin charging tourists from May 5.
Photo: Shutterstock
A resident of the neighboring city of Da Nang told the Tuoi Tre that "it doesn't make sense" for someone to go to Hoi An for a coffee or a bottle of water and have to pay an entrance fee that "is worth three or four times as much (which coffee or bottle of water)".
The director of the Hoi An Culture, Sports and Television Center, Truong Thi Ngoc Cam, said for his part that the residents of the city do not
want it to be a "low-cost" destination
, and argued that the pressure for environmental protection and the administration is "huge" compared to the income from tourism.
Increasing prices and
moving from mass tourism to one based on visitors with higher purchasing power
is an ambition in many Southeast Asian countries.
View of Hoi An, Vietnam.
Photo Shutterstock
Cases in other Southeast Asian countries
Last February, the Government of
Thailand
announced that it will start charging a fee of 300 baht (about 8.86 dollars or 8.24 euros) from June to tourists and foreign travelers arriving by plane in the country, while arriving by land or sea will pay 150 baht (about 4.43 dollars or 4.12 euros).
In
Indonesia
, the authorities announced last August an increase in the entrance fee to the island of Komodo from 150,000 Indonesian rupiahs (about 10 dollars or 9.17 euros) to 3.75 million rupiahs (251 dollars or 229 euros), but they gave backing down after a barrage of criticism.
EFE
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