Chaos of off-road vehicles at Bau Trang national scenic spot

leDozens of cars and off-road vehicles operating without permission, carrying tourists, not ensuring safety on Trinh Nu sand hill

Tourists "head broken"

In early August, at the Trieu Trang tourist facility, dozens of "outdated" cars had their engines and designs modified, turning them into off-road vehicles to carry tourists around recklessly.

“After spending 800,000 VND, 8 people in my family climbed into a car to explore the sand dunes. Due to the lack of seats, 4 people in the family had to sit in the back of the car. Without seat belts or protection, the car carrying many lives just rushed forward, shaking violently. My husband's head unfortunately hit the back of the car and was bruised. This was a terrible experience and I will never participate again,” said Ms. Le Thuy Nhi (a tourist from Ho Chi Minh City).

With a dazed look, Mr. Le Van Tho (a tourist from Dong Nai province) still could not calm down after participating in the off-road vehicle service on the sand dunes at the U&Me tourist facility. “When we got on the vehicle, we were not equipped with any protective equipment. Everything happened so fast, I only remember feeling like I was thrown out of the vehicle, and the driver just drove through the deep sand dunes. I cannot imagine what would have happened if the vehicle had flipped over in the middle of the slippery sand dunes,” Mr. Tho recalled. Meanwhile, there is a tourist facility here that is willing to let tourists drive off-road motorbikes themselves, regardless of whether they have a driver's license or not.

According to research, there are currently 4 businesses in the Bau Trang scenic area that offer off-road vehicles to tourists to experience and explore the sand dunes. In fact, in the past, there have been many cases where tourists have suffered consequences from this type of service. In addition, according to some employees working at tourist attractions in Bau Trang scenic area, due to the rough and slippery terrain of the sand dunes, there are often vehicle rollovers, or tourists are thrown out of the vehicle if they do not hold on tight.

Loose management?

According to the Bau Trang Tourist Site Management Board, currently all four tourist off-road vehicle service businesses do not have a license to operate the service and do not have a certificate of technical safety and environmental protection. According to statistics, the total number of off-road vehicles operating in the Bau Trang scenic area is nearly 200, of which more than 80 are ATVs, the rest are cars. Most of the off-road vehicles are overdue and not registered. The owners of the establishments buy old cars, then "repair" the engines and convert the bodies to carry tourists.

Converted off-road vehicles to carry tourists

Mr. Ngo Truong Tho, Head of Bau Trang Tourist Site Management Board, said: “The off-road vehicle tourism service is not yet licensed to operate on the sand dunes, and the transport of tourists by establishments is still spontaneous. Most of the off-road vehicles in tourist businesses do not have papers and are all “modified” to high speed to be able to run on the sand dunes.”

Meanwhile, Mr. Huynh Ngoc Thanh, Deputy Director of the Department of Transport of Binh Thuan province, said that because these types of vehicles only operate within the internal scenic area and do not drive on the road, the unit does not manage them and cannot apply penalties in the field of road and railway traffic because they are not within the scope of regulation.

To resolve the difficulties and shortcomings in the management of off-road vehicle services at Bau Trang scenic spot, recently, the People's Committee of Bac Binh district has coordinated with the Department of Transport and the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Binh Thuan province to find a solution to bring this business activity into order and in accordance with regulations, but so far there have been no results.

Businesses also let visitors drive their own off-road vehicles.

In 2019, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism issued a decision to recognize Bau Trang as a national relic. The entire Bau Trang landscape was zoned for protection by the relevant authorities with a total area of ​​nearly 372 hectares. According to Dr. Dinh Kiem, former Head of the Department of Human Resources Management, Ho Chi Minh City University of Labor and Social Affairs (campus II), Bau Trang is a natural complex that is easily affected by nature and humans. Therefore, the locality needs to manage closely and have more specific policies to inspect, control and monitor, thereby putting exploitation on the right track and sustainably.

NGUYEN TIEN

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/bat-nhao-xe-dia-hinh-tai-thang-canh-quoc-gia-bau-trang-post754458.html