Street vendors surround and rip off tourists

All kinds of street vendors

The clip recorded the scene of a woman selling apples on a bicycle on Thuy Khue Street, Buoi Ward, Tay Ho District, Hanoi recently inviting two foreign tourists to try apples and then "cutting them off" causing many people to be upset. After trying, the customer wanted to buy, so the seller took a small bag of apples and charged 200,000 VND. However, the customer did not agree with this price, so he repeatedly refused and asked for his money back, but the seller refused to pay. The two sides argued for a while, then a young security guard nearby "rescued" him, saying that the number of apples was too small compared to the amount of money and it was necessary to return the money to the customer.

Buoi Ward People's Committee got involved and because the money had been returned, decided to administratively fine the street vendor 150,000 VND.

Small bag of apples for 200,000 VND is causing outrage

Hoi An has long been praised by international tourists as the safest place in Vietnam, but it has not escaped the "whirlpool" of annoying street vendors. Street vendors have appeared at the Japanese Covered Bridge, on the streets, following tourists to solicit their purchases. Most recently, tourists have complained on social media groups because street vendors on Le Loi Street told them to "go away" and used obscene words. Hoi An authorities later confirmed that they had removed the potato chip stall because it was located in an unauthorized area.

If Hanoi is famous for its street fruit stalls or fruit-carrying bicycles that overcharge tourists, Ho Chi Minh City has been criticized for its coconut vendors for many years. Many men carry coconuts around tourist attractions such as the Reunification Palace, the park near Notre Dame Cathedral, the War Remnants Museum... to intercept tourists, let them try and force them to buy coconuts at 5-7 times the market price.

Last year, Ms. Becky Chan, a Taiwanese working in Ho Chi Minh City, went on a field trip to film a video warning of the "fraudulent" behavior of coconut sellers and shoe shiners in District 1. The video "exposed" the tricks of coconut carriers to lure customers into "traps", initially by making friends, then letting the carriers try and then forcing the price of 150,000 VND for a coconut, if the customer refused, the price would be reduced to 50,000 VND.

A 150,000 VND coconut in District 1, in the distance is the scene of tourists having their shoes "stripped off" right on the road.

She also filmed a scene where a shoe shiner arbitrarily took off a foreign family’s shoes and cleaned them right on the street without giving the customer a chance to refuse. The price for each pair of shoes after polishing was 350,000 VND, but the customer did not agree so the price was reduced to 50,000 VND. The family also said they bought 2 coconuts for 150,000 VND.

One-time visitors

On social media platforms, content related to street vendors ripping off tourists in Vietnam appears quite a lot. Most of them praise Vietnam’s beautiful landscapes, but the street vendors’ persistent harassment can make them never come back.

Zak Cadogan, an American tourist living in Thailand, has just finished his journey across Vietnam. His feelings after the trip were a mixture of satisfaction and disappointment. The main reason for his disappointment was because the street vendors kept following him around, and when he didn't buy anything, they blamed him and scolded him for being a "bad person".

“In Hoi An and Sa Pa, people would push you with whatever they were selling and constantly offer to buy things, following you around for five to 10 minutes. It was a really weird experience because you were obviously saying ‘No, no, no’ over and over again and it made you feel bad about saying no to things you didn’t even want,” he said.

Many street vendors follow tourist groups in Sa Pa

According to him, in Thailand, there is no such thing as soliciting sales. People also invite tourists to buy things, take taxis but do not bother or pressure tourists. And that is the wonderful thing that makes him and other international tourists love this destination and often come back.

Mr. Nguyen Van My, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Lua Viet Tourism Company, said that street vendors are not at fault, but that street vendors have gone from a popular trading culture to a negative activity is the fault of the locality and the management agencies. "Street vendors overcharging tourists has appeared for a long time in Vietnam, but we have not handled it properly. If any incident occurs, we just punish them and that's it. For example, street vendors occupy Nguyen Hue walking street, District 1, but after clearing it, they return to their original state," Mr. My said, emphasizing that to give a prominent reason for why international tourists rarely return to Vietnam, it is because street vendors cling to and overcharge tourists.

As a person who directly guides tourists to many places, Mr. My said that from Ha Long to Da Lat, the floating markets in the West are filled with street vendors everywhere. Under the sea, on the river, whenever a large ship carrying passengers arrives, a small boat comes in to sell. In Cai Rang floating market, street vendors are a lovely cultural feature, but gradually lose their character when sellers can sell at many different prices, high prices in the early morning, and low prices near noon when customers return. Buyers, after comparing prices, may feel like they have been cheated.

Street vendors follow tourists on Ha Long Bay

"Recently, there have been too many incidents involving street vendors overcharging tourists, which have been reported by tourists on social media, negatively affecting the image of the destination that we have worked so hard to build, contributing to pushing back competitiveness. That makes the tourism management agency have to find ways to coordinate with the authorities to effectively manage and bring street vendors into order like the surrounding countries are doing," Mr. My added.

Mr. My said that all countries have street vendors, but the way they manage them has limited the solicitation and overcharging to the maximum. For example, street vendors in Angkor, Cambodia, if invited by tour guides or drivers to get on the car to sell to tourists, they do not dare, fearing fines, because they are limited to their own street vendor area with only the fear of ropes strung on the ground.

Source link: https://thanhnien.vn/hang-rong-bua-vay-chat-chem-du-khach-185240319111205566.htm