Need to thoroughly handle the situation of asking for money from tourists at Cua Viet beach

A woman with a small child stood there begging and asking for money until the customer was forced to take out his wallet and give him money - Photo: HN

On the afternoon of May 24, reporters directly witnessed many beggars trying to cling to and ask for money from tourists at restaurants and eateries along Cua Viet beach. Even though the tourists politely refused, they still tried to cling to them, standing there begging and pleading until the tourists waved their hands and frowned before they left. At another table, a woman carrying a small child was begging for money from tourists. When she saw the reporter raising her camera to record, she immediately cursed and turned away.

Ms. Hai Yen, from Hanoi, was upset: “My family and I came here to swim, eat, and rest since noon, but after sitting in the restaurant for about 15 minutes, 3 people came to ask for money. At first, I gave them money because they were disabled, but I didn’t expect that later on, someone would come and beg me with a small child. This made my whole family feel uncomfortable and quite annoyed while enjoying the meal.”

According to Ms. Yen, the thing that made her feel most awkward was that if she didn't give, she would feel sorry, but if she did, many people would come and bother her. Therefore, the family's trip to Cua Viet beach was a bit less fun.

Through information gathering, the beggars who come here are of different ages, from children to women, the disabled and even young people, most of whom live outside Gio Linh district. Every day, around noon and especially in the evening, the beggars are taken by cars and motorbikes to Cua Viet beach to beg for money. When they arrive at the rows of dining tables, these subjects begin to "act deeply" with many disabilities, using crutches, carrying small children, showing their difficult circumstances, then approach the tourists to explain, plead, and ask for money.

Because there are no strict regulations, restaurant owners and businesses here have no way to reduce the situation of beggars and street children coming to bother and beg customers. Ms. Mai Thi Hanh, owner of Cat Bien Business and Service Establishment, said that in fact, this situation happens every year, although the restaurant owner and the authorities have reminded and talked to them many times, the above subjects still appear. Another difficulty is that these people are often disabled, carrying small children, so we cannot chase them away or speak harshly, because they are the weakest people in society.

“A few days ago, some people came to Camel Beer Beach Club with their children to beg for money. We immediately approached them and explained that this is a tourist entertainment space, and that they should not come in to solicit or beg. Seeing that the space was difficult to stand and haggle, these people immediately left. To avoid a repeat of the above situation, we have arranged for more staff to be on duty to prevent and immediately remind any beggars who come,” said Mr. Truong Cong Don, Manager of Camel Beer Beach Club.

According to authorities, although this problem has been actively coordinated and addressed by many units, it still exists, causing inconvenience to tourists and significantly affecting the beauty of the beach.

Mr. Bui Thuy, Deputy Director of Project Management, Land Fund Development and Industrial Cluster of Gio Linh District, in charge of beaches in Gio Linh District, said that this is a difficult problem that has existed for many years but is very difficult to handle thoroughly. Every year, the subjects appear with more sophisticated tricks, constantly changing, causing difficulties for service businesses, tourists and management departments.

In the meeting to deploy the beach tourism season in early March, we emphasized this issue and directed the staff at Cua Viet beach to grasp the situation, organize propaganda and reminders. At the same time, we stepped up propaganda for service businesses not to allow beggars to ask for money from tourists at the restaurant; and told customers about the tricks and behaviors of these subjects.

Instruct beach staff to increase efforts to discourage beggars from following visitors and to coordinate regular patrols to promptly remind them. However, these subjects only mumbled and left.

“Stretching along Cua Viet beach for about 500 - 600 m, there are 43 restaurants specializing in serving food and drink to tourists, so it is very difficult to follow and remind the beggars. Because the force is small, when we arrived at this restaurant, they quickly moved and hid to more distant restaurants.

We have asked business owners to cooperate, but it is really difficult because there must be a process to verify whether the beggars are really disabled or in difficult circumstances. If they are really in a pitiful situation and we chase them away, it will be very unsightly,” said Mr. Thuy.

According to Chairman of Gio Linh District People's Committee Vo Dac Hoa, on April 25, 2025, Gio Linh District People's Committee issued Document No. 1008/UBND-KGVX on strengthening the management of beaches in the district during the 2025 beach tourism season. Currently, Gio Linh District has grasped the reality of many beggars bothering and asking for money from tourists at Cua Viet beach.

In the immediate future, the district will direct sectors, localities, and beach management boards to further promote propaganda and handle cases on a case-by-case basis. In the long term, to solve this problem at its root, more comprehensive solutions are needed.

“We will have a plan to require food establishments not to allow beggars to solicit and ask for money from customers; increase coordination with the police, border guards and local authorities to invite these subjects to work, identify their hometowns, and then contact the localities where these subjects reside to bring them under management, committing not to repeat the situation. The district will also organize meetings to discuss unified solutions to completely resolve the above situation,” Mr. Hoa emphasized.

Hoai Nhung

Source: https://baoquangtri.vn/can-xu-ly-dut-diem-tinh-trang-xin-tien-du-khach-o-bai-bien-cua-viet-193888.htm