Ticket sales to visit Hoi An ancient town increased 5 times

Quang Nam After more than 7 months of tightening entrance fees, Hoi An collected 190 billion VND, 5 times more than last year and 2/3 of 2019, before the Covid outbreak.

Responding to VnExpress , Mr. Nguyen Van Son, Chairman of Hoi An City People's Committee, said that more than 1.6 million tickets to visit Hoi An ancient town heritage site were sold this year, an increase of more than 166% over the same period last year, of which international visitors were 1.4 million and Vietnamese visitors were nearly 220,000 (up 20%). Ticket sales reached 190 billion VND, 5 times higher than in 2022, equal to nearly 70% of 2019. Ticket sales In 2021, the lowest period, ticket sales only reached 1.4 billion VND.

Mr. Son assessed that the money collected from ticket sales has contributed to the tourism industry in the old town, such as expanding green space and urban areas, and investing in infrastructure to serve tourists. Currently, most travel agencies and tourist groups have proactively gone to the counter to buy tickets.

Hoi An has been selling tickets for groups since May 15, while individual visitors to the old town to eat and take photos are not required to buy tickets. There are people at the entrances to the old town to welcome them and give specific tour guides. The ticket price is 120,000 VND for international visitors and 80,000 VND for domestic visitors.

Tourist groups coming to Hoi An will be controlled from a distance (parking lot) and guided along the routes. There will also be inspectors in the old town. If tourists are found not buying tickets, they will be asked to leave and the tour guide will be punished according to regulations.

A group of foreign tourists visit Hoi An on the afternoon of May 11. Photo: Dac Thanh

According to Mr. Tong Quoc Hung, Head of the Department of Culture and Information of Hoi An city, in 2023, most of the city's tourism targets will reach about 70% compared to 2019 and are in the process of complete recovery.

This year, Hoi An welcomed about 4 million visitors, an increase of nearly 100% compared to the same period last year. Although international visitors reached 3 million, an increase of more than 320% compared to the same period, Vietnamese visitors only reached 1 million, equal to 77% compared to the same period. Total revenue of the entire tourism industry reached more than 4,100 billion VND, an increase of more than 200% compared to the same period.

A representative of the Department of Culture and Information commented that the proportion of international visitors to Hoi An has recovered to the same level as before the pandemic, accounting for over 70%. South Korea is the leading market for international tourists to Hoi An with over 215,300 arrivals, accounting for nearly 21%, followed by Taiwan and Australia with nearly 138,000 arrivals (accounting for over 13%) and nearly 84,000 arrivals (accounting for over 8%), respectively. Malaysian visitors ranked 5th with nearly 60,000 arrivals, accounting for nearly 6%.

Tourists from Europe, traveling in groups, have increased in the last months of the year, and are in the top 10 markets sending tourists to Hoi An, including British, French, German, and Spanish tourists.

Regarding the Vietnamese market, Mr. Hung said that the guests mainly come from the northern and central provinces. Vietnamese visitors to Hoi An during the holidays are also fewer than in 2022. Guests traveling in groups of friends and families from Da Nang and Tam Ky have decreased significantly compared to previous years. Therefore, noise pollution caused by the use of karaoke speakers by accommodation establishments has also decreased.

Regarding visitor spending, Mr. Hung said there are no complete statistics yet, but it is easy to see that spending this year is quite low compared to before the pandemic. The reason could be that visitors are tightening their spending and Hoi An's goods and souvenirs have not met shopping needs. The services that are currently used by many visitors are spas and cooking classes.

Visitors to Hoi An in January. Photo: Xuan Phuong

This year, the average occupancy rate of accommodation establishments reached more than 50%. Small accommodation businesses have basically overcome the most difficult period of the pandemic.

Most accommodation establishments with 30 rooms or more are still facing many difficulties due to price competition from 4-star hotels and above of large corporations. 4-5 star accommodation establishments have not fully recovered because the number of guests is not equal to the pre-pandemic period but room rental prices are lower and input costs are higher.

Local hotels have more difficulty competing to attract guests because after buying shares of hotels, large corporations have invested and upgraded new, beautiful technical facilities, giving them better competitive advantages. The situation of selling accommodation facilities and commercial banks foreclosing accommodation facilities to recover debts still occurs quite a lot in the city.

According to Mr. Hung, in 2024, Hoi An aims to welcome 4.3 million visitors, an increase of 7.7% compared to 2023, with estimated revenue of more than VND 4,500 billion, an increase of 9.64% over the same period. The key tasks of Hoi An tourism industry next year include completing the application for recognition of Cu Lao Cham as a national tourist area; developing a project to build and develop night tourism products; and participating in more tourism promotion programs.

Tu Nguyen

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