On the afternoon of May 11, the People's Committee of Hoi An city ( Quang Nam province) held a press conference to officially inform about the plan to control tickets to visit the ancient town and expand the street for pedestrians and non-motorized vehicles from May 15.
The plan to control tickets to visit the old town is implemented specifically with a fee of 80,000 VND/person for domestic visitors and 120,000 VND/person for foreign visitors when visiting Hoi An Ancient Town. This is the ticket price that has been implemented since 2012 until now.
The goal is conservation, not “harvesting”
People who do not have to buy tickets include: City residents when entering and exiting the old town, people coming to Hoi An to work, do business or people entering just to participate in culinary activities in the old town area.
According to Chairman of Hoi An City People's Committee Nguyen Van Son, the organization of ticket sales to visit the city's heritage has been implemented since 1995 according to many different regulatory documents.
During that period, the city implemented Decree 14 (Decree No. 14/LCT/HDNN7 of the State Council: Decree on Protection and Use of Historical, Cultural and Scenic Relics). Currently, the locality implements the spirit of the Heritage Law, the Tourism Law as well as the Resolution of the Provincial People's Council on collection levels.
Chairman Nguyen Van Son stated: Controlling tickets to visit the old town is not about collecting all the money. The main problem is that Hoi An ancient town is now too narrow. Hoi An ancient town is nearly 1 square kilometer wide out of the city's total 64 square kilometers.
There are times when the old town is very crowded with tourists, many of whom do not buy entrance tickets, causing the relic to show signs of overload in terms of infrastructure and service capacity. Therefore, the policy of controlling entrance tickets to the old town is based on the purpose of preservation.
According to Mr. Son, to implement this project, Hoi An city has consulted with the people in the old town because they are the owners of the heritage. The people in the old town have highly agreed with this plan.
The Chairman of the People's Committee of Hoi An City emphasized that the organization of ticket sales aims to ensure fairness for ticket buyers and non-ticket buyers when visiting the ancient town as well as to create fairness between legitimate businesses and businesses that intentionally bring in illegal visitors. The Chairman also pledged that: "The control of tickets to visit the ancient town will be extremely flexible, preserving the image of Hoi An as a friendly and hospitable city."
Expanding service space
In addition, the city expanded the walking space to Phan Chu Trinh street, increasing products in the neighborhood to serve tourists.
Accordingly, phase 1, from May 15, 2023, operating hours are from 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. in summer and 9:00 p.m. in winter, on weekdays. Operating area: From the intersection of Nguyen Hue-Phan Chau Trinh to the intersection of Cao Hong Lanh-Phan Chau Trinh.
Phase 2 is expected to be implemented from January 1, 2024, operating hours from 3:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. in the summer and 9:00 p.m. in the winter, on weekdays. Operating area: From the intersection of Hoang Dieu-Phan Chau Trinh to the intersection of Cao Hong Lanh-Phan Chau Trinh.
The “street for pedestrians and non-motorized vehicles” on Phan Chau Trinh Street is expected to create an attractive space for cultural, tourism and culinary experiences, limiting traffic, dust and noise in the central area./.
(Vietnam News Agency/Vietnam+)
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