Hoi An needs to stop the practice of spreading mats to eat and drink on the beach

Mats are spread out everywhere for guests to relax and eat on An Bang beach on the afternoon of April 30 - Photo: BD

"A series of beautiful beaches, many kilometers long from Cua Dai to An Bang in a tourist center like Hoi An, but one place is for swimming, the other place is for eating, it looks very messy. The city will re-plan it neatly" - Vice Chairman of Hoi An City People's Committee Nguyen Van Lanh pledged.

Guests spread mats on the beach to drink beer and eat.

The Hoi An beach stretching from An Bang to Cua Dai ward was once considered one of the most beautiful beaches in the world.

The steeply sloping coastline, with fine sand stretching along rows of ancient coconut trees and hugging high-end tourist areas, is an attractive spot for tourists.

However, since 2018, the coastline has been eroded, making tourism sad. Recently, thanks to the construction of an underground dike, the beach has gradually regained sand. The return of many visitors has brought bustling business.

The recent April 30 and May 1 holidays witnessed a scene of "terrible" crowds of tourists. On the long stretch of sand, especially An Bang beach located opposite the road leading to the center of the old town, people jostled each other to have fun and swim.

But this crowded scene also includes groups of people spreading out mats to eat and drink on the sand. Next to these mats, bathers keep bathing, eaters keep eating, while street vendors continuously call out to them.

Just a few steps away, rows of restaurants were densely packed in a desolate scene. Visitors flocked to the beach, but the food and beverage shops on the shore had almost no revenue.

Mr. Le Ngoc Thuan - owner of Deckhouse An Bang restaurant - lamented: "Foreign guests see people spreading mats on the beach, eating, drinking, and shouting, so they leave. They say that eating and drinking like that is unprofessional and unhygienic."

Mats served to guests on An Bang beach on the afternoon of April 30 - Photo: BD

Hoi An is wasting sea space

Acknowledging the shabby state of Hoi An beach, many businesses believe that planning is needed to create more services for visitors. Especially in the context of Asian and domestic visitors coming to Hoi An but saying that there is a lack of places to experience as requested.

Mr. Nguyen Son Thuy - Director of Duy Nhat Indochina Tourism Company - said that the tourism market is witnessing an explosion of Asian tourists.

This group of visitors especially loves the sea. Visitors from Korea, Taiwan, Japan, India… have accounted for 51.2% of the total visitors to Hoi An in recent years.

According to Mr. Thuy, Hoi An has many beautiful beaches including Cua Dai, An Bang, Tan Thanh... However, there is currently no guidance from the government, many beaches do not have management boards, which poses a risk to the safety of visitors. Some areas are also very messy and not well organized.

Mr. Thuy suggested that the government should invest in upgrading infrastructure at beaches and increase funding to promote them to tourists. In addition, it is necessary to accompany businesses to host beach activities and events.

Other tourism businesses also believe that the sea is a new tourist space of Hoi An. An Bang beach was once in the top 5 most beautiful beaches in Asia.

Faced with the changing tourist market and increasing number of beach-loving tourists, it is necessary to reorganize the Hoi An beach area to create entertainment and service areas for tourists.

Can't collect trash

At the meeting, Mr. Dinh Dung - Chairman of Cam An Commune People's Committee - said that on the occasion of April 30, An Bang beach welcomed 15,000 people/day, mostly local people. The large number of people caused 2 trucks of garbage to be collected each day, 11 people worked hard but there were times when it was not enough.

Mr. Dung said that before, people spread out tarps and mats to eat and drink on the beach, but "now they are only allowed in a small area at both ends, and definitely not allowed to spread out mats in the central area of ​​Cam An beach." However, reporters' observations on April 30 and May 1 showed that mats were spread out densely along the beach.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/hoi-an-can-dep-nan-trai-chieu-an-nhau-tren-bai-bien-20240509174409523.htm