Hundreds of tourist boats on Ha Long Bay are competing unfairly by "encroaching" on each other to win customers.
For many months now, cruise ship owners in Ha Long Bay (Quang Ninh province) have been continuously sending petitions and letters to Quang Ninh province's authorities "accusing" each other about the situation of different types of cruise ships - including overnight cruise ships in the bay, daytime sightseeing ships and restaurant ships - operating "encroaching" on each other's territory.
Continuously "accusing" each other
The first was a collective complaint by day tour boat owners about the situation where some overnight boats also switched to pick up daytime passengers, running on the same sightseeing route, leading to local congestion at tourist attractions. Next, restaurant boat owners "accused" overnight boats and day tour boats of encroaching on the "yard" of restaurant boats.
In the petition and letter sent to the Provincial Party Committee, the People's Committee of Quang Ninh province and departments, branches and sectors, the group of restaurant ship owners operating on Ha Long Bay said that recently, many accommodation ships have changed their business model to welcoming "non-staying overnight" tourists on Ha Long Bay.
Notably, there are also a large number of hourly boats with a capacity of 48 passengers and 99 passengers operating as night restaurants in the waters of Ha Long International Passenger Port, without a license from the port authority. This has greatly affected the ecosystem of restaurant boats in Ha Long Bay.
To resolve the above situation as well as ensure compliance with current regulations, creating conditions for the restaurant fleet to develop in accordance with business orientation, restaurant ship owners in Ha Long Bay proposed that the Provincial Party Committee and the People's Committee of Quang Ninh Province direct departments, branches and sectors to take measures to manage the operation of inland waterway vehicles serving passengers in accordance with the orientation that ships operating in which field should exploit that field. At the same time, soon have instructions and regulate the tour itinerary of current routes for restaurant fleets in Ha Long Bay and Bai Tu Long Bay.
Previously, hourly boat owners also complained to the authorities of Quang Ninh province about the situation where some boats stayed overnight in Ha Long Bay but gradually switched to only receiving hourly tourists during the day.
According to hourly boat owners, this causes chaos, competition for customers, and could affect tourism activities in Ha Long Bay.
Tourists disembark at Ha Long international passenger port
Dealing with the situation of cruise ships encroaching on each other's territory
According to the Ha Long Bay Management Board, the situation of tourist boats encroaching on each other's territory has only recently appeared. Previously, each type of boat operated in its own segment. The encroachment on each other's territory and competition for customers was partly due to the number of passengers being lower than the very large capacity of the Ha Long Bay tourist boat fleet, leading to more than 500 boats operating at only 30%-40% capacity.
According to the investigation of the reporter of Nguoi Lao Dong Newspaper, the tourist boats operating illegally only appeared mainly on route number 2 (the journey Soi Sim - Ti Top Island - Sung Sot Cave - Tung Sau lagoon - Me Cung cave - Bo Nau cave - Luon cave - Trong cave - Trinh Nu cave - Ho Dong Tien cave) which has been overloaded for a long time. Meanwhile, other tourist boat routes in Ha Long Bay have few passengers and the authorities have encouraged the boat owners to bring passengers but they have been ignored.
Representatives of the Ha Long Tourist Boat Association and day tour boat owners said that if the current situation is not handled, the situation could become even more chaotic because many boat owners are willing to change their form of operation and many new, large boats will be put into operation in the near future.
From a business perspective, the operation of ships with multiple functions, such as overnight ships that pick up passengers during the day, is to maximize the efficiency of the ship and is also within regulations. However, which routes and hours of operation need to be carefully considered to avoid traffic conflicts and unfair competition, affecting tourism activities at the World Natural Heritage Ha Long Bay.
After the meeting chaired by the Department of Transport (now the Department of Construction) of Quang Ninh province to resolve the above situation had no results, the People's Committee of Ha Long City recently proposed solutions.
Accordingly, the People's Committee of Quang Ninh province is requested to approve the traffic regulation plan for tourist ships. Specifically, for accommodation ships and sightseeing ships with performances and meals to welcome guests in the evening along the shore, the operating time is from 6:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. daily. For the operating area, add route number 8 to Ha Long Bay (from Tuan Chau International Passenger Port - Ha Long International Passenger Port to Nam Cau Trang Port).
Operating area for restaurant ships, in addition to coastal areas permitted to operate in accordance with regulations, is allowed to operate on routes 3 and 4 of Ha Long Bay.
For accommodation ships, only operate to transport tourists during the day (no overnight stay), operating area according to routes 3 and 4 of Ha Long Bay.
In case of forced change of itinerary from staying in the bay to a day tour (due to weather conditions, at the request of the Inland Waterways Port Authority, etc.), it is allowed to operate day tour transportation on registered routes.
Ha Long City People's Committee also proposed allowing the cruise ship to continue to receive daytime visitors on routes 1 and 2 for 60 days from the date the Provincial People's Committee approved the regulation plan so that the vehicle owner can arrange for visitors who have registered for the tour in 2025.
Ha Long Bay tourist fleet currently has 508 ships, of which over 170 are overnight ships, the rest are day tour ships.
Meanwhile, there are currently 4 restaurant ships in Ha Long Bay; it is expected that there will be 4-5 more restaurant ships in 2025, including 2 ships with a capacity of 600 - 800 guests.
Source: https://nld.com.vn/tau-du-lich-canh-tranh-bat-nhao-tren-vinh-ha-long-196250306220900003.htm
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