Although connected, to go from Ha Long Bay to Lan Ha Bay, the tourist boat must spend an extra half day because of the "river blockade".
Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha recently requested Quang Ninh and Hai Phong to coordinate in completing the dossier to nominate the Ha Long Bay - Cat Ba archipelago heritage complex as a world heritage site. Although considered a complex, Ha Long Bay and Lan Ha Bay (Cat Ba) have a management boundary between Quang Ninh and Hai Phong, causing difficulties for cruise ships and tourists for many years.
Currently, ships running the Lan Ha Bay route must anchor at Gia Luan wharf in Hai Phong, a small wharf that is often overloaded and relatively inconvenient to travel to. To get to Gia Luan wharf, passengers must travel by Got ferry, which is often overloaded in the summer and requires several hours of waiting. In addition, visitors also incur additional costs if they bring their own vehicles such as cars to cross the ferry.
Meanwhile, ships running on the Ha Long Bay route, Quang Ninh, can anchor at three ports including "Tuan Chau International Tourist Port"; "Ha Long International Port"; "VinaShin Hon Gai Port", which have a larger capacity than Gia Luan.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, ships running the Lan Ha route were allowed to anchor in Ha Long, but now this permission is no longer granted. Therefore, ship owners have sought to "take a detour" by using high-speed boats running along the "national route" to take passengers from Tuan Chau to where ships running the Lan Ha route anchor. However, the place where ships running the Lan Ha Bay route anchor to pick up passengers from the high-speed boats is an "overlapping point". Many disputes between the bay management board and ship owners have occurred here.
A ship running the Lan Ha route was inspected for "violating the boundary". Photo: NVCC
Mr. Nguyen Duy Phu, Chairman of the Lan Ha Yacht Association, said that the maritime boundary between the two bays can be measured by coordinates but is not "visible" to the naked eye. Many times, Mr. Phu's boat as well as the boats of members of the Lan Ha Yacht Association have been made difficult by some officials on the Ha Long Bay side for "crossing the boundary". These situations make the boat owners not know "how to respond" to tourists.
"Is it forbidden for me to drive from Hai Phong to Ha Long now? If not, why are you causing trouble at sea?", Mr. Phu said.
Responding to VnExpress , an official from the Ha Long Bay management board said that it is impossible to use the excuse of "the border at sea is not tangible". Private cars are not banned from traveling between the two provinces, but passenger transport vehicles "must comply with the regulations set forth".
A representative of a business that operates overnight cruise ships in both Ha Long and Lan Ha Bays said that they want to soon remove the "river blockade" between the two bays. This business has to use two cruise ships at the same time because it is operating experience products in Ha Long Bay, Lan Ha Bay, and Cat Ba archipelago.
After taking visitors to visit and spend a night in Ha Long Bay, the cruise ship will return to Tuan Chau Wharf. From here, guests will be transferred to a speedboat, which will take them to the area where the Lan Ha cruise ship anchors in the waters of Gia Luan. If there were no boundary, the time for the ship to travel from Ha Long Bay to Cat Ba would only take about 30 minutes. Due to the roundabout journey, the guests' experience time will be extended by half a day.
"This story has been told for more than 10 years," this person said.
If this boundary is removed, Mr. Pham Ha, CEO of Lux Group, a 5-star cruise ship operator, affirmed that tourists will benefit the most. Vietnam has increased the length of stay for e-visas from 30 days to 90 days. Citizens of countries that Vietnam unilaterally exempts from visas will also be granted temporary residence for 45 days, instead of 15 days as before.
The boat anchors for overnight guests in Lan Ha Bay, right on the border between the two bays. Photo: Pham Ha
According to Mr. Ha, along with increasing the length of stay, Vietnam also needs to take steps to enhance the experience for tourists. Instead of only visiting Lan Ha or Ha Long Bay, visitors can explore both bays, creating a breakthrough thanks to regional connectivity.
"I hope ships can depart from both ports. Where the ship departs, there is where you pay. Where you sleep, there is where you pay," said Mr. Ha.
Mr. Ha said that "the two provinces have not found a common voice" for many years. In addition, revenue management when opening these two routes is also "a difficult problem to solve". However, customer experience is the most important thing, so by all means, the "border" situation must be ended soon.
Representatives of the Lan Ha Cruise Association hope that ships traveling to Lan Ha can depart from some ports in Ha Long, making the journey more convenient for tourists and reducing costs by about 180,000 VND per person.
Tu Nguyen
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