Close down, go on strike.
On September 15th, the Tu San Agricultural and Tourism Service Cooperative unexpectedly announced the temporary suspension of tourist transportation on the Nho Que 1 hydroelectric reservoir. The cooperative is the only entity operating boats to transport tourists on the Nho Que River, offering views of the extremely popular Tu San gorge, a major tourist attraction in Ha Giang.
Foreign tourists no longer have the opportunity to take a boat ride on the Nho Que River.
The cooperative's reasons are that they have not yet agreed on a temporary management plan for inland waterway transport services for tourists within the Nho Que 1 hydroelectric reservoir area between the Meo Vac District People's Committee, the cooperative, and Nho Que 1 Hydroelectric Joint Stock Company. Furthermore, they have not yet signed or renewed a passenger transport contract between Nho Que 1 Hydroelectric Joint Stock Company and the cooperative.
Therefore, the cooperative has temporarily suspended transporting tourists to visit Tu San Gorge by tourist boat on the Nho Que River from September 16th until further notice. To date, after nearly four days of "strikes," boats on the Nho Que River have still not resumed operation, preventing tourists from admiring the emerald green river and the deepest gorge in Southeast Asia…
Previously, a similar situation occurred when, starting on July 8th, the Tam Coc - Bich Dong tourist area ( Ninh Binh ) suddenly suspended operations during the peak summer season, with no clear date for reopening.
The main reason for the suspension of operations is the failure to reach an agreement on labor contracts between the company (Trang An Investment - Trade - Service Co., Ltd., the unit managing and operating the Tam Coc - Bich Dong tourist area) and the boatmen.
Even by the end of August, this popular tourist destination had still not returned to normal operation. Speaking to a Thanh Nien reporter at the time, Mr. Nguyen Cao Tan, Deputy Director of the Ninh Binh Department of Tourism, said: "After the business announced a temporary suspension of operations on July 8th, we requested that they resume operations. They announced reopening on August 21st, but still couldn't serve tourists because the boat service hadn't been implemented yet."
Most boatmen are still reluctant to sign contracts due to fear of being bound by time constraints, contracts that only last one year, and other reasons. Many people believe that the environment and the river are natural resources, national resources, and since the boats are paid for by the people themselves, why should they have to sign contracts and be bound by time constraints with a business?
Tam Coc - Bich Dong closed for 2 months, leaving the local people's rowboats exposed to the elements.
Who is responsible?
Mr. Tran The Dung, Deputy Director of The Young Generation Tourism Company, said that tours in Northern Vietnam have been negatively affected by the closure of tourist attractions. In the summer, there was the closure of Tam Coc - Bich Dong, and now there's the suspension of boat tours on the Nho Que River. These are two extremely popular destinations in Northern Vietnam, loved by many tourists and included in all tour itineraries...
"The suspension of boat services on the Nho Que River has forced us to find alternative solutions. For example, we take tourists on motorbikes westward, from where they can rent boats from locals to visit Tu San Gorge for sightseeing. Although it's not as convenient as when the cooperative's boats were still operating, tourists could easily disembark at the dock by using the hydropower company's access road, it's better than nothing. In case tourists are hesitant to take a local boat, we take them to a scenic spot on the Ma Pi Leng Pass to admire the Nho Que River and Tu San Gorge from above," Mr. Dung explained.
According to Mr. Dung, Ha Giang province has made great efforts in recent times to make the Nho Que River destination more accessible and famous, attracting a large number of tourists. However, if the issue of boats is not resolved completely, it will make Ha Giang less attractive, not only affecting the lives of local people but also negatively impacting tourists and travel businesses.
According to statistics, over the past two weekends (September 16-17), approximately 1,000 tourists had their boat tours on the Nho Que River canceled.
On average, the cooperative transports about 600 tourists by boat each weekday, and 1,000-1,200 domestic and international tourists on weekends.
Tu San Gorge is a popular tourist destination in Ha Giang.
Responding to the press on September 16th, the People's Committee of Meo Vac district stated that the locality had issued a document approving the cooperative to continue transporting tourists until the end of 2023. However, the cooperative did not resume operations. On the same day, the district worked with the relevant parties, but could not find a solution, so tourists could not visit the Nho Que River. The reason is that the two units have not yet agreed on the distribution of profits.
Tourism expert Nguyen Duc Chi argues that conflicts of interest between businesses and the community have arisen in the Tam Coc - Bich Dong and Nho Que River cases, and a swift solution is needed to ensure the resources are fully accessible to tourists. In this case, Nho Que 1 Hydropower Joint Stock Company is entrusted with managing the resource (Nho Que River) as it lies within the hydropower reservoir, while the cooperative – representing the community – is allowed to exploit that resource using its own self-built boats. The local authorities cannot remain aloof and consider this a civil dispute between the two parties.
The Nho Que River flows into Vietnam from the area of Seo Lung village, Lung Cu commune, Dong Van district, passing through the Tu San gorge and then running along the Ma Pi Leng pass. At Meo Vac, the river splits and flows east-southeast into Cao Bang province, finally emptying into the Gam River.
Tu Sản is considered the deepest gorge in Southeast Asia, measuring approximately 700-800 meters deep and nearly 2 kilometers long. In 2009, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism classified the Ma Pi Leng Pass area and Tu Sản Gorge as a scenic landmark of Vietnam; the Nho Que River was honored as one of Vietnam's unique tectonic valleys.
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