Streamer IshowSpeed was "ripped off" on a central street in Ho Chi Minh City - Photo: FB
Just a few hours after reporting, the authorities found the suspect and dealt with those involved in the clip that caused a stir on social networks of a foreign streamer who came to Vietnam on the evening of September 14.
Although the tourists have been apologized and compensated for their losses, for many people, stopping at this level of handling will only solve the tip of the iceberg. As long as the chaotic situation of street vendors and services on the central streets of Ho Chi Minh City still exists, the "rip-off" will still exist.
Scene of "slashing" livestreamed to the world
IshowSpeed is a world-famous streamer who came to Vietnam to attend events and travel. On the evening of September 14, this streamer explored the city and livestreamed Vietnam for the world to see.
Statistics show that the livestream on YouTube channel IshowSpeed on the evening of September 14 attracted more than 5.5 million views with more than 9,666 comments.
Arriving at Nguyen Hue walking street, this streamer wanted to experience the electric balance bike right in a crowded tourist area and was asked by a service provider for 100 USD. After the streamer gave the 500,000 VND bill, the seller asked for another bill. In total, this "tourist" had to pay 1 million VND for a few minutes of electric bike experience.
On social networking sites, "the incident lasted about 40 seconds" causing anger and frustration for many people.
Mr. P. Chung (HCMC) exclaimed: "This ugly act of overcharging disgraces tourism and the image of Vietnam. I still don't understand why people can overcharge right when they are streaming? What about other normal tourist buying and selling scenes?".
Similarly, many people took to the streamer's channel to apologize and express shame for the experience he had while visiting Vietnam.
In fact, not only foreign tourists are "ripped off", domestic tourists and tourism workers also suffer. Mr. Hung Phuong (living in Ho Chi Minh City) said that he recently led a group of relatives from abroad to Vietnam to go shopping at the market.
"I bought a pair of plastic sandals but the seller said the price was 150,000 VND. I just paid 120,000 VND and the seller immediately sold it. Then a friend introduced me to another place to buy the same pair for only 40,000 VND," Mr. Phuong recounted.
The guests were very satisfied with the beautiful scenery and Vietnamese cuisine until they went shopping.
How to stop "overcharging"?
Ms. Nguyen Thi Khanh - President of the Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Association - said that "ripping off" tourists is a problem that the association always worries about when working with the City Tourism Department.
The desire of the city's tourism businesses is to eliminate the situation of "ripping off" tourists, along with re-establishing tourism services and products in a more orderly manner. The association has coordinated and worked with the department many times to find solutions to the situation of "ripping off" tourists, but occasionally there are a few cases that occur.
"With the characteristics of being the economic and tourist center of the country, the image of the city's tourist destination could be affected by this incident. We are building a high-end tourist destination, for conference guests, a city of events... so this incident is very regrettable," said Ms. Khanh.
Although many international tourists praise Vietnam for its peacefulness, delicious food, and reasonable prices, they still do not forget to "remind" each other when coming to Vietnam that "markets and roadside stalls "rip off" tourists a lot".
Mr. Vu The Binh - Chairman of Vietnam Tourism Association - also regretted that many Vietnamese tourism workers thought they could "pickpocket" international tourists, but in fact they were losing their own opportunities.
To end this situation, businesses have requested management agencies to require services to clearly list prices, and not allow spontaneous services and street vendors to exist in key tourist areas.
The director of a large travel company specializing in the Japanese market said that experience from tourism development in Japan shows that prices of goods and services are often clearly and publicly listed, from train tickets to food and accommodation services. Large businesses or chain stores almost never have unreasonable price increases.
In major tourist spots like Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka or areas like Shinjuku or Harajuku, prices may be higher than in the normal local area, but this is largely due to the difference in location and operating costs rather than "rip-offs".
Most importantly, the management agency must strictly control and manage informal services such as street vendors and spontaneous services to avoid fraud or price gouging. In addition, it is also possible to rely on community assessments.
"For example, creating platforms or applications so that tourists can easily rate and share their experiences about services at tourist destinations. These ratings will help management agencies better monitor service quality, and help other tourists avoid "rip-off" places," the director said.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/streamer-ishowspeed-bi-chat-chem-tp-hcm-can-thiet-lap-dich-vu-du-lich-quy-cu-hon-2024091517131949.htm
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