With Phan Thiet Expressway, will tourists 'abandon' Vung Tau?

The completion of the Dau Giay - Phan Thiet Expressway has attracted a large number of tourists to Mui Ne during the April 30 and May 1 holidays this year.

Direct competition

Monitoring the situation of tourists during the holidays in two famous tourist destinations, Phan Thiet and Vung Tau, we can see a clear shift. In Vung Tau City, a resort quite familiar to Ho Chi Minh City residents, the number of visitors coming here during the holidays has increased but not much, only equivalent to the weekend. At Xom Luoi seafood market, a familiar place to buy fresh seafood, the number of tourists coming to shop in 2 days is only equal to the weekend and only 1/3 of the previous year's holiday. The number of visitors has decreased, so traders do not dare to stock up on many goods, only increasing by about 10% compared to normal days.

On the contrary, according to data from the Department of Culture - Sports - Tourism of Binh Thuan , the April 30 and May 1 holidays this year were long and it was the hot season, so Mui Ne and some other destinations in Binh Thuan welcomed a large number of visitors.

From April 29 to May 2, the number of visitors to Binh Thuan reached more than 160,000, double that of last year. Revenue from the tourism industry in Binh Thuan province during the April 30 holiday this year reached about 230 billion VND.

According to the analysis of Mr. Tran Van Binh - Vice President of Binh Thuan Tourism Association, the reason why Mui Ne welcomed a high number of visitors on April 30 and May 1 this year is because the Phan Thiet - Dau Giay expressway was just inaugurated and put into operation on April 29, shortening the distance from Ho Chi Minh City to Mui Ne to only 2.5 hours, instead of 5 - 6 hours as before on National Highway 1.

Choose Phan Thiet because there are fewer "rip-offs"

Taking his family to travel to Phan Thiet during the holidays, Mr. NMĐ, residing in Cat Lai Ward, Thu Duc City (HCMC) shared: "I have traveled to Vung Tau many times and this time I went to Phan Thiet via the new highway. My first feeling is that I am very excited because there are more convenient options for people. For a long time, tourists have chosen to go to Vung Tau because it is close to HCMC, but now Phan Thiet is also very close. Next, the price of services in Phan Thiet is relatively cheap compared to Vung Tau. My whole family went to eat at a seafood restaurant with a menu with many dishes, but the total bill was only about 2 million VND. If compared to Vung Tau, it can be said that it is much cheaper".

Vung Tau also has attractive sightseeing and check-in places.

Mr. TQT, a tourist living in District 12 (HCMC), who often visits Vung Tau, analyzed: "Vung Tau City is too familiar, so people in HCMC want to experience another place less often. However, if we compare prices and services, it is clear that the price level in Vung Tau is quite high, especially during holidays. This creates a sense of apprehension for tourists when coming here. I myself was very frustrated when parking at the night market to eat, a person claiming to be a parking attendant then charged a fee of 50,000 VND, while there was no sign of the fee. Then when buying seafood at Xom Luoi market, although the source of seafood is abundant and there are many choices, the price is quite high. Savvy customers know how to bargain to reduce the price, but there are also many people who do not know or do not want to waste time bargaining, so they have to accept the price given by the seller".

On some forums, many opinions also agree that the prices of services in Vung Tau are quite high compared to Phan Thiet. However, there are also many opinions "defending" that such comparisons should not be made, because Vung Tau has complete infrastructure, many night entertainment services to meet the needs of a large number of tourists, while Phan Thiet is still on a more moderate scale. The scenery of each place is different and the taste of local dishes is not necessarily suitable for tourists.

Mr. Nguyen Van Binh, residing in Binh Thanh District (HCMC) commented: "Choosing Phan Thiet or Vung Tau for tourism is a personal decision. However, the expressway route that makes Phan Thiet and Mui Ne become "competitors" of Vung Tau is also a good scenario for each place to review its own advantages and disadvantages to compete to attract tourists, thereby making improvements to better serve "customers".

Source link: https://thanhnien.vn/co-cao-toc-phan-thiet-du-khach-lieu-co-bo-roi-vung-tau-185230502143549015.htm