Visitors to Ha Long Bay will have to pay 40,000 VND to enter and exit the port.

The Tuan Chau Group (Quang Ninh) has just announced that it will charge passengers at the Tuan Chau International Tourist Port from November 1, 2016, with two price levels: 40,000 VND per person for a round trip and 20,000 VND per person for each entry or exit.

Tuan Chau Tourist Port will start charging a fee for visitors touring the Bay from November 1, 2016 - Photo: BQN

Thus, visitors to Ha Long Bay now have to pay at least four types of fees: port fees, Ha Long Bay sightseeing fees, fees for visiting each cave in Ha Long Bay, and the cost of renting a tourist boat for transportation. Many tourists argue that charging port fees to domestic or foreign tourists traveling by boat from inland to visit the bay is unreasonable, because this cost should already be covered by the cruise companies for mooring and berth fees at the port.

However, Mr. Dao Anh Tuan, General Director of Au Lac Co., Ltd. (Tuan Chau Group), argued that the Tuan Chau tourist port is a 100% privately-invested project, and therefore the capital must be recovered.

According to Mr. Nguyen Duc Long, Chairman of the Quang Ninh Provincial People's Committee, the collection of fees for the use of piers, wharves, and mooring buoys for passengers at Tuan Chau International Passenger Port must be implemented in accordance with the guidelines of the Ministry of Finance, in line with the local situation, and harmonizing the interests of tourists and businesses.

According toVu Mien/VOV-Northeast