Previously, toll collection at the Mount Sam National Tourist Area was entirely manual, labor-intensive, and lacked convenience for visitors. The key to the new plan is the complete removal of all three existing toll collection points. This means that vehicles will be able to freely enter and exit the Mount Sam National Tourist Area without obstruction. This also eliminates the need for vehicles to stop in the middle of the road to buy tickets, ensuring the safety of staff and improving traffic flow.
Tourists visit the Ba Chua Xu Temple on Sam Mountain. Photo: Phuong Lan
Instead of collecting vehicle fees as before, the new plan will focus on controlling tickets for each individual visitor. Director of the Mount Sam National Tourist Area Management Board, Truong Huu Tien, affirmed that this fee collection is entirely consistent with the 2015 Law on Fees and Charges, applicable to visits to cultural and historical relics; and that the fee will be uniformly named "Cultural and Historical Relics in the Mount Sam National Tourist Area".
The fee collection area will be concentrated around three key historical sites: the Lady of Sam Mountain Temple, Tay An Pagoda, and Thoai Ngoc Hau Mausoleum. All individual visitors entering this area must purchase tickets as required by law, except for those eligible for exemptions or discounts. To optimize the process, the Management Board has set up three main ticket checkpoints: at the beginning of the pedestrian street in front of Tay An Pagoda, at the end of the pedestrian street in front of Vinh Te Temple, and at the back entrance of the Lady of Sam Mountain Temple (Chau Thi Te Street). In parallel, three ticket booths are planned at the visitor transfer point (Vinh Dong Commercial Center); the old sculpture area on Tan Lo Kieu Luong Street; and at the end of the pedestrian street in front of Vinh Te Temple.
According to the Management Board of the Mount Sam National Tourist Area, the shift to a personal ticket control model provides a favorable basis for implementing the electronic ticketing scheme. “The Management Board plans to invest in check-in and QR code scanning at ticket checkpoints. Tourists can pay online, scan QR codes, or pre-order tickets through the tourist area’s official website,” Mr. Tien said.
This implementation is being carried out according to a well-structured digitalization roadmap. Specifically, the electronic ticketing system will officially go into operation on October 30, 2025 (Phase 1). Immediately afterwards, the unit will focus on Phase 2, expected to be completed in December 2025, which includes upgrading the website and integrating online ticketing methods and cashless payments. A higher goal is that in 2026 (Phase 3), the unit will apply AI facial recognition cameras, gradually building a smart and convenient tourism environment for visitors.
A representative from VNPT An Giang stated that the electronic ticketing solution simultaneously addresses two major issues of the traditional model. Firstly, from a legal standpoint, the system helps businesses fully comply with state regulations regarding the use of electronic receipts and invoices. All ticket sales transactions are updated to the system, connecting instantly with the tax authorities, ensuring absolute financial transparency.
From a management perspective, digital tickets automate manual processes that are time-consuming and prone to errors. Instead of printing, counting, and reconciling paper tickets, all ticket sales information (individual sales, group sales, contracts) is managed centrally on a digital platform. The system can automatically generate statistics and reports based on various criteria, helping managers understand business performance in real time to make quick and accurate decisions.
The core strength of e-tickets lies in the automated ticketing process via QR code scanning. Each issued e-ticket comes with a unique QR code. At the control gate, staff simply use a specialized code reader (POS machine, scanner, or mobile phone application). The system checks and verifies the validity of the ticket. The principle is that each ticket can only be scanned once. This not only makes ticket checking faster and more efficient but also completely eliminates the possibility of counterfeit or used tickets being smuggled in.
It is expected that investing in electronic ticketing systems, especially facial recognition technology in the future, will be a crucial step towards making Mount Sam worthy of its status as a national tourist area.
PHUONG LAN
Source: https://baoangiang.com.vn/so-hoa-thu-phi-khu-du-lich-quoc-gia-nui-sam-a466647.html
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