The boats have resumed services since May 4, but until now, many have attracted no passengers.
Nguyen Duy Phu, director of Pelican Cruise Joint Stock Company, said that his boats have been running at Lan Ha Bay in Haiphong City since May 1. Although the firm has offered the discount of up to 50%, but have still lured a modest number of passengers.
“We have ever seen the loss of VND18.5 million (USD804.34) for one day when three boats carried out a total of 40 passengers in the day. From now, we will revise the boat frequency based on passenger numbers to ensure we minimise losses. In cases where there are few people, we will refuse to provide the service,” Phu added.
Companies which offer overnight boat service have also failed to draw customers as the service mainly serves foreign visitors.
According to Pham Dinh Huynh, since May 5, his boats which operate on Ha Long Bay have not lured any passenger. He added that the traveller number to the bay these days remains quite low.
Doan Van Dung, general director of Dong Duong Cruise Joint Stock Company, some beaches in Quang Ninh still ban visitors, which is among reasons for why boats can find it hard to have passengers.
Quang Ninh Province has offered free tickets for visitors to Ha Long Bay and Yen Tu tourist site since May 5. The visitors are all local residents and domestic visitors who come to the province through Van Don International Airport.
Quang Ninh’s tourist spots have been reopened since May 1 after being temporarily closed due to Covid-19. Over the past four days, visitors to the province have been on the rise, but being still much lower than usual.