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On July 21st, the Lam Dong Department of Agriculture and Rural Development announced that it had sent a document to the Da Lat City People's Committee requesting a report on the handling of illegal tourism activities using motorboats on the scenic Xuan Huong Lake (report due before July 26th).
Previously, on June 19th, the Lam Dong Department of Agriculture and Rural Development conducted an on-site inspection at Xuan Huong Lake and discovered a ticket booth near the intersection of Tran Quoc Toan and Tran Nhan Tong streets. The booth displayed the information: "Xuan Huong Boat Terminal Ticket Sales Point of LiMi Co., Ltd." There were 30 small motorboats on the lake, with approximately 4 of them operating on the surface to serve tourists. These boats were self-driven by tourists, and one boat (numbered 18) was carrying 7 people (including 1 child), one of whom was not wearing a life jacket. The boat showed signs of being overloaded and was tilted to one side, posing a significant danger.
Images recorded by the Lam Dong Department of Agriculture and Rural Development during an inspection.
According to the Lam Dong Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, the operation of motorboat tourism services at the Xuan Huong Lake boat dock is a newly emerging activity that has not been licensed by the Provincial People's Committee as required by regulations. This motorboat tourism activity poses a significant danger to the safety and lives of tourists, affects the overall landscape around Xuan Huong Lake, and could have a major impact on the tourism industry in the event of an unfortunate incident.
The Lam Dong Department of Agriculture and Rural Development recorded images and sent a document to the Da Lat City People's Committee requesting an inspection of this tourism activity and decisive action within their authority regarding violations of the irrigation protection corridor, and a report on the results before July 15th. However, as of July 20th, the Department had still not received the report.
According to an inspection by the Da Lat Economic Department, the boat dock of LiMi Co., Ltd. at Xuan Huong Lake scenic area does not have a permit to operate within the protected area of the irrigation works as required by regulations.
These boats are all driven by the tourists themselves.
Here, in addition to the two motorboats used for rescue operations, there are also 15 four-seater pedal boats, 10 eight-seater pedal boats, and 5 five-seater pedal boats. These boats and pedal boats operate manually with electric motors (the batteries for the electric motors have now been removed). The company has also submitted a business plan to the authorities to obtain operating permits.
Regarding the above incident, the People's Committee of Da Lat City has requested LiMi Co., Ltd. to temporarily suspend its boat service and pedal boat services at Xuan Huong Lake in order to complete the necessary paperwork and submit it to the competent authority for licensing in accordance with regulations (the company has already stopped operating this service at Xuan Huong Lake).
The Lam Dong Department of Agriculture and Rural Development inspected 30 boats.
The People's Committee of Da Lat City has assigned the Da Lat Center for Investment Management and Exploitation of Irrigation Works to supervise the company's compliance until all legal documents are fully completed according to regulations for this service. They are also tasked with inspecting and guiding organizations and individuals operating boat services at the boat dock and pedal boat services on Xuan Huong Lake to complete their applications and submit them to the competent authority for licensing (in cases where safety is not ensured, operations must be immediately suspended).
Pedal boating on Xuan Huong Lake is a popular activity among tourists (operating with permission).
At the same time, regularly inspect, monitor, and propose to the competent authorities to strictly handle any violations (if any) related to business activities at the boat dock and pedal boat services of businesses operating on Xuan Huong Lake to ensure absolute safety for users of this type of service.
