Mr. Hoang Xuan Don, Head of the Dong Van Karst Plateau Geopark Management Board, said that Ha Giang province is finalizing a project to collect entrance fees to the Geopark. The fee collection scope is expected to apply to all four districts but does not include entrance fees at three locations: Lung Khuy Cave, Nha Vuong House, and Lung Cu Flagpole. Ha Giang plans to collect fees based on the number of stays, specifically 30,000 VND per night for adults and 15,000 VND per night for children.
According to Mr. Don, there are currently about 40 points within the Geopark that can collect fees, but Ha Giang province has only collected fees at three points, including Lung Khuy Cave (Quan Ba); Nha Vuong and Lung Cu Flagpole (Dong Van). From 2017 to 2021, the total fees collected were about 29 billion VND, after paying to the budget, only 17.2 billion VND remained.
"After consulting the experiences of several countries and many provinces in the country, we realized that collecting fees at tourist attractions contributes significantly to the conservation and development of cultural heritage sites associated with tourism development," said Mr. Don.
It is estimated that in 2024, the number of visitors to the Geopark that can collect tickets will be about 1.78 million. The funding will be spent on the fee collection management unit; accommodation facilities that directly collect fees; conservation, protection, and development of new products at the Geopark.
Thousands of tourists come to Dong Van stone plateau on Lunar New Year occasion
The Geopark was established in September 2009, including four districts: Quan Ba, Yen Minh, Dong Van, Meo Vac with a total natural area of about 2,356 km2. By 2010, Dong Van Stone Plateau was recognized by UNESCO as the first UNESCO Geopark in Vietnam.
Up to now, investment resources for the construction and development of Geoparks have been used from local budgets. However, with the increasingly high recommendation system and criteria of the UNESCO Global Geopark Network, as well as the demand from tourists, investment resources for infrastructure, promotion, education, conservation and management will increase. The cost for each re-evaluation period may exceed the capacity of the province. Therefore, it is planned to charge fees to visitors to Dong Van Karst Plateau Geopark to meet the needs of construction and development.
