Domestic tourists buying tickets to Hoi An ancient town increase

Mr. Nguyen Van Son, Chairman of Hoi An City, said that over the past month, when the city increased ticket control, group tourists and travel agencies have complied. 100% of foreign visitors to Hoi An ancient town bought tickets as before, while domestic visitors increased by about 20%.

Tourists buy tickets to visit Hoi An ancient town

"The authorities discovered some groups that did not buy tickets to visit, so they were reminded and made a record to handle it," said Mr. Son, adding that the number of individual visitors was the same as before, not buying tickets to enter the old town.

Hoi An City leaders said that the organization of ticket sales at two parking lots, then transfer to the old town by tram is orderly and neat. "The situation of fare evasion in the groups has decreased significantly compared to before," he said.

In addition to the two parking lots above, Hoi An is rushing to complete the parking lot in front of Long Tuyen Pagoda, Thanh Ha Ward, to organize the reception of guests by electric car. This parking lot is 2.3 hectares wide, the largest in the city, will be completed in about two months and will limit cars from entering the city center.

"When the city strictly controls ticket purchases, some groups that do not need to visit will play in the outside area, reducing the load on the old quarter," said Mr. Son.

Ticket control staff for group visitors entering the old town

Hoi An City's Center for Culture, Sports and Radio and Television, a unit involved in controlling ticket sales, said that the past month was a low tourist season, so ticket sales were normal and did not increase much compared to before.

Hoi An welcomes about 2,000-5,000 visitors on weekdays, nearly 10,000 visitors per day on weekends, while over 10,000 visitors per day on holidays. Group visitors account for about 40%. Entrance fees to Hoi An ancient town for international visitors are 120,000 VND and domestic visitors are 80,000 VND, issued in paper tickets.

For many years, Hoi An has recorded 90% of its revenue from ticket sales coming from foreign tourists. The proportion of visitors buying tickets only accounts for about 40% of the total number of visitors to the old town, including many groups of visitors who enter the old town but do not buy tickets.

On May 15, Hoi An implemented a ticket control plan for group visitors. They were identified as groups of visitors from travel agencies, with tour guides and flags, usually traveling in cars with 15 seats or more. On the first day, Hoi An sold 4,500 tickets, equivalent to the previous days before the control, due to the small number of visitors.

The city uses the revenue to restore, preserve and promote the value of the neighborhood, invest in cultural and artistic products, ensure security and order, improve urban beauty, environmental sanitation, and improve service quality. For many years, the loss of tickets has seriously affected revenue and caused a lack of funding.

According to VnExpress