Overcharging, snatching, "squeezing" discounts and promotions
Faced with the "shock" of the lack of visitors during the period approaching the April 30 - May 1 holidays, service and tourism businesses in Phu Quoc City ( Kien Giang ) have simultaneously implemented many stimulus programs to attract visitors to the pearl island such as keeping service prices the same, not charging surcharges during the holidays. Many units even agreed to reduce service prices during the peak season - something that has almost never happened at any tourist destination.
For example, Kim Hoa Resort Phu Quoc, which has 55-60% of its room capacity, has decided to remove service surcharges despite the increase in input material prices and triple the salary of employees. The price per night is less than 1 million VND/room, while the price in the same period last year was nearly 1.5 million VND. Many managers of large hotels and resorts in Phu Quoc such as JW Marriott Phu Quoc Emerald Bay Resort & Spa, Sea Sense Resort & Spa Phu Quoc, Best Western Premier Sonasea Villas Phu Quoc... have also informed their partners that they will not charge service surcharges. The once "hot trend" destination Sunset Sanato Resort and Villas Phu Quoc has also reduced room rates by up to 15%; in addition, there are combos of accommodation and dining at the restaurant that save up to 20%, spa services are 10% off for guests and no surcharges are charged on holidays.
High-class tourism products are not enough to blur the opportunistic image of Phu Quoc tourism.
Together to stimulate demand, airlines also support the regulation of slightly reducing airfares to the pearl island during the 3 peak summer months. In addition, a number of tourist areas and hotels organize many large-scale communication and destination promotion programs, supporting the island city to leave its mark as a "resort paradise" in the hearts of international tourists. However, all efforts have been almost ineffective. The number of visitors to Phu Quoc from the April 30 - May 1 holiday season to the September 2 holiday has still dropped dramatically.
"If you book a hotel combo or stay in a resort, the quality is already up to standard, there's nothing to discuss. For those who really need a vacation, a plane ticket 1-2 million higher is not a problem. However, other services outside are very snatchy," said Ms. Thuy Phuong ( Hanoi ).
Ms. Phuong said: The family had lunch at a Vietnamese restaurant, ordered broken rice and beef noodle soup, but the price on the menu was one thing, but when paying, the bill was another. When asked, the restaurant staff said "the price has just increased but has not been updated to the menu yet". The whole family rented an electric motorbike for 1 hour, but one person had to pay 60,000 VND, while the other person bargained so it was only 40,000 VND. In the evening, when calling a taxi to go to town, Ms. Phuong clearly stated from the beginning that she was going to Ganh Dau, but the driver took her to another entertainment spot and said "I have an acquaintance here, it is more convenient for me to take you to play and shop here".
"A few tens of thousands of dong is not much, but I hate the most the way of asking for a price that is too high. When traveling, you are not only worried about having fun but also worried about bargaining. To be honest, I live in Hanoi, so everyone has always had the prejudice that tourists here often overcharge. Well, that's true, it used to be like that in the past but it's less so now. That's why I came here to play. The previous times I went to Da Nang, Nha Trang, Quy Nhon... everything was fine, I didn't see this kind of haggling. Now Phu Quoc is really too chaotic. The prices on the island are already more expensive, and I'm very dissatisfied with the overcharging," Ms. Phuong frankly shared.
The key is management and public awareness.
In fact, Nha Trang and Da Nang, which Ms. Thuy Phuong just cited, also went through an extremely "ugly" period in the past because of the quality of service. In the years before 2010, Nha Trang used to be a nightmare for tourists because of the problem of begging. On average, each year, this city gathered about 200 - 250 homeless people and beggars into social welfare facilities and brought them back to their localities. But not only was the problem not completely resolved, the begging problem also changed when many people pretended to be street vendors, buskers, and made up stories of tragic circumstances... to attract tourists.
Then, to restore the image of a coastal city that attracts international tourists, the leaders of Nha Trang City People's Committee have set up a project to solve the problem of vagrants and beggars with an important solution being to build a specialized team working 24/7, with its own means to collect beggars. In addition, the team also conducts propaganda so that all people change their behavior, say no to giving money to beggars, and when doing charity work, send money and goods to organizations or social protection facilities. Each facility, tourist destination, scenic spot, service business location, etc. is propagated to have measures to prevent vagrants and beggars from soliciting, begging, and causing trouble for people and tourists. The city is also determined to strictly handle cases of impersonating to beg, and those who herd beggars.
In particular, people who discover and report the correct beggars and homeless people, help the authorities gather those people for care and management according to regulations, and are also rewarded with money. With determination and perseverance, up to now, begging in Nha Trang has been reduced by about 70%. The city's leaders are setting a goal that by 2025, there will be no vagrants or beggars in the city.
Similarly, from 2012 to present, Da Nang City has continuously deployed many campaigns, from each district People's Committee establishing a "Tourism Order Team" to launching campaigns, determined to eradicate pickpocketing, theft, and robbery of tourists' property at some tourist attractions in the city.
From the lessons of major tourist cities, Mr. Luu Binh Nhuong, Deputy Head of the Petition Committee (Standing Committee of the National Assembly), analyzed: Phu Quoc possesses many advantages compared to other destinations. In terms of planning, since 2013, the Government has issued a decision to establish Phu Quoc Economic Zone, with the connotation of building this island into a special tourism and trade center. These are two main roles that, without a specific and systematic strategy, will lead to unfocused development. Traffic connections from sea to air, along with the extension of power lines to the island, have clearly demonstrated the Government's interest and focus on developing Phu Quoc. However, when Phu Quoc was about to be upgraded to a special economic administrative zone along with Van Don and Van Phong, much information has stirred up the real estate market, attracting many businesses to promote investment. However, the investment is not scientifically managed, leading to fragmentation, the sea surface is divided, seriously affecting the environment as well as the landscape needs of the people.
Through the supervision of the National Assembly Standing Committee, it can be seen that Phu Quoc is not a large area but the security and order situation is very serious. Many serious and prominent incidents are happening continuously, making tourists afraid to come. "Accompanying" is the situation of overcharging, taking advantage of tourists, collusion between tourism components to share commissions, and opportunistic business. Originally built as a resort paradise, the more tourists expect, the greater the disappointment. The high-class, modern resorts and entertainment areas are expected to be the "key" products, but on the "big screen" is a picture of mixed service quality, only scattered highlights.
"To lead to the consequences like today, it is certainly related to the state management work, the management capacity of the locality, from planning to construction, ensuring security and order, developing tourism culture... is weak, still has many loopholes. If Da Nang, Sam Son, Nha Trang need campaigns to rebuild their image, then Phu Quoc needs a revolution to revive tourism, from tourism culture, tourism infrastructure to tourism trade. In which, the first foundation is people's awareness and the vision and actions of local leaders", Mr. Luu Binh Nhuong emphasized.
The story of Phu Quoc "the pearl island turned upside down", from a tourist paradise to a real estate transaction paradise, the key lies in weak management, people's awareness of law compliance and the failure to build a tourism culture.
Mr. Liu Ping Ruong
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