Enhancing the visitor experience in Ha Long Bay

With the view of preserving and promoting the heritage value - the world natural wonder of Ha Long Bay associated with sustainable tourism development, in recent times, Quang Ninh province has focused on synchronous solutions. In particular, managing and improving the quality of the tourist fleet on the bay, adding more sightseeing itineraries are important factors to help increase the attraction and experience for tourists when coming to Ha Long Bay...

Modern cruise fleet on Ha Long Bay. — Modern cruise ship fleet on Ha Long Bay.

Currently, there are 502 registered tourist ships operating in Ha Long Bay, of which 437 have signed contracts to anchor in 2024 with the Ha Long Bay Management Board. Each tourism service business in Ha Long Bay has its own goals and markets to exploit visitors and proactively improves its competitiveness with many solutions, including improving the quality, safety of vehicles and service quality.

In particular, after the orientation of the People's Committee of Quang Ninh province on expanding the scale, capacity of rooms and ensuring standards, safety conditions, technical and environmental protection, improving the quality of tourism services, many businesses have boldly invested large amounts of money to build new passenger transport vehicles. Among them, there are many high-class vehicles, with quality, standards, luxurious and modern architectural designs, technical safety conditions, environmental protection, fire safety equipment ensuring standards and regulations. Some businesses have also pioneered in investing in vehicles with standards higher than the general standard, with professional service quality to meet their target market and increase competitiveness in tourism service business activities on Ha Long Bay. From there, approaching diverse customer markets, creating high-class tourism products to serve luxury customers with high spending needs.

International tourists visit Ha Long Bay.

Mr. Luong The Tuyen, Deputy Director of Viet Thuan Transport Company Limited, said: We have put into operation 2 Grand Pioneers yachts with more than 100 high-class accommodation rooms, manufactured and built according to the most advanced shipbuilding standards in the world today. Not only that, this is the first overnight accommodation yacht fleet in Vietnam that meets the technical standards of VR-SB, operating in all coastal waters of Vietnam, with a running speed of up to 13 nautical miles/hour, and operating time of up to thousands of continuous hours... These parameters also meet the standards of inland waterway vehicles issued by the Provincial People's Committee.

In order to improve the quality of tourism service business activities, maximize the capacity of vehicles, meet the needs of visitors and protect heritage, the Provincial People's Committee has issued a series of documents such as: Decision No. 43/2024/QD-UBND dated October 8, 2024 of the People's Committee of Quang Ninh province on promulgating regulations on measures to manage the activities of inland waterway vehicles serving tourists on Ha Long Bay and Bai Tu Long Bay; Decision No. 2119/QD-UBND dated July 19, 2024 announcing the tour and tourism itinerary on Ha Long Bay and Bai Tu Long Bay; building a Development Plan to improve the quality of the tourist fleet operating in Quang Ninh province until 2030, a Plan to regulate the transport of tourists on tourist ships on Ha Long Bay, etc.

In particular, up to now, after a period of implementation, the Provincial People's Committee has directed relevant departments, branches and localities to continue reviewing Decision No. 43/2024/QD-UBND, focusing on reviewing and eliminating contents that restrict the rights of enterprises according to the provisions of law, encouraging resources for investment and development, operating in accordance with the provisions of law, implementing contents according to UNESCO's recommendations. At the same time, the Provincial People's Committee has directed to review and resolve according to the assigned authority regarding the activities of transporting tourists to the bay by restaurant ships, ensuring the legitimate rights of enterprises in accordance with the provisions of law; at the same time, studying the plan to implement digital transformation to serve the control of tourism capacity on Ha Long Bay from tourism activities...

Along with the encouragement of investment in the quality of tourist transport fleets, to enhance the experience for tourists visiting Ha Long Bay and Cat Ba archipelago, on February 26, 2025, the People's Council of Quang Ninh province passed a Resolution on amending and supplementing a number of contents on fees, charges, and sightseeing for 3 Ha Long Bay tours for tourists traveling on cruise ships without overnight stays. Of which, there are two new tours and one tour that has been put into service for tourists on restaurant ships but has not yet applied fees.

Specifically, for Ha Long Bay 6 (new route) is the route from the Port - Chan Voi Islet - Ba Cua Lagoon - Tung Lam Island - Cap Bai Islet (the final point adjacent to Gia Luan, Lan Ha Bay, Hai Phong) or vice versa, the fee is 150,000 VND/time/person/day. For Ha Long Bay 7 (new route), tourists will visit Ha Long Bay routes 1, 2, 3, and 4, with a fee of 600,000 VND/time/person/day, which is the highest fee for cruise passengers who do not stay overnight.

Ha Long Bay 8 route (already in service) is a route from Tuan Chau Passenger Port - Ha Long International Passenger Port - Nam Cau Trang area with a fee of 70,000 VND/time/person/day. This is a route running along the coast of Ha Long City, has served tourists on restaurant boats for many years but has not yet collected a fee.

According to Mr. Vu Kien Cuong, Head of Ha Long Bay Management Board, currently, Ha Long Bay Management Board is coordinating with relevant departments, branches and localities such as the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Department of Construction, Inland Waterways Port Authority and management units of Tuan Chau International Passenger Port, Ha Long to actively and urgently prepare the necessary conditions to organize fee collection for 3 new sightseeing itineraries from May 1, 2025. Thereby, ensuring the most convenience for tourists, tourism transport companies, travel companies and not losing revenue from sightseeing fees.

Duong Ha

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