The Ha Long Bay-Yen Tu World Heritage Management Board said the proposal would revise provincial regulations on entrance fees, cutting admission fee at Yen Tu to zero between 2026 and 2028.
The move is intended to thank residents, monks, Buddhists and visitors nationwide for helping to protect, preserve and restore the site, and for contributing to the dossier that secured UNESCO World Heritage recognition for Yen Tu.
Quang Ninh began charging entry to Yen Tu in January 2018 at VND 40,000 (USD 1.53) per adult and VND 20,000 per child, with annual revenue initially reaching VND 30-40 billion. Revenue fell sharply during the Covid-19 period and has since recovered only partially, remaining insufficient to cover operating costs such as wages, conservation, forest protection and festival organisation.
The management board said operating costs would instead be covered by ticket revenue from Ha Long Bay, and has proposed increasing its retained share to 28 per cent from 11 per cent.
Ha Long Bay ticket revenue peaked at about VND 1.28 trillion (USD 48.6 million) in 2019, plunged during the pandemic, and has rebounded since 2023, reaching more than VND 786 billion in 2023, VND 973 billion in 2024 and over VND 1.01 trillion in 2025.
