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On October 22, 2019, the Ha Long Bay Management Board (Quang Ninh) sent tourism businesses a draft proposal to increase entrance fees for Ha Long Bay and Bai Tu Long Bay starting in January 2020. Businesses were given three days to respond.
Explaining the price increase, the Management Board stated that it is a solution to distribute tourists across tourist routes and destinations, ensuring capacity is met and contributing to the protection of Ha Long Bay's environment. However, many businesses argue that the proposed price is too high compared to current prices and that the consideration period is too short; some businesses even did not receive notification to respond.
According to the draft, the proposed fee increase ranges from 20-73% (depending on the route) compared to the current rates. Some of the changes include: for tourist route 2 (Soi Sim beach, Ti Top beach, Sung Sot cave, Me Cung cave, Bo Nau cave, Luon cave, Trong cave, Trinh Nu cave, Dong Tien lake) with a one-night stay, the fee will increase by 73% (from 550,000 VND/person/trip to 950,000 VND/person/trip); for tourist route 3 (Cua Van fishing village cultural center, Cua Van fishing village, Tien Ong cave, Ba Ham lake, Ba Men temple, Ang Du), the fee with a one-night stay will increase by 60% (from 500,000 VND/person/trip to 800,000 VND/person/trip),…
According to representatives of travel companies, they had quoted tour prices for the entire year of 2021, but with only three months' time to increase prices (if approved), businesses would suffer significant losses. Furthermore, these companies had already signed tour price agreements with foreign customers a year in advance, and changing prices is strictly prohibited.
It is understood that current tour prices are based on an existing price structure, in which the profit margin for domestic travel companies is very small. Therefore, a sudden price increase would have a ripple effect. Furthermore, the stated reasons for the price increase—to reduce the number of tourists and protect the environment of Ha Long Bay—are unclear.
On October 25th, the Quang Ninh Provincial People's Committee issued document 7749/UBND-TM4 stating that, in order to stimulate tourism and attract visitors to Quang Ninh in general and Ha Long in particular, especially during the winter season, the People's Committee requested the Ha Long Bay Management Board to temporarily suspend the adjustment of entrance fees for Ha Long Bay and Bai Tu Long Bay; and to continue promoting and introducing destinations and improving the quality of tourism products in the area for a wide range of domestic and foreign tourists.
