Head of the Halong Tourist Boat Association, Tran Van Hong, spoke to Nguoi Lao Dong Newspaper on Friday about a meeting on March 7 with representatives of the Tuan Chau and Halong ports where a sharp rise of various fees was announced be applied from April 1.
"Some services will have fees raised by over 30 percent, which will affect not only our operations but also the bay's competitiveness," Hong said.
According to a new announcement by the two ports, passenger tickets will rise from VND40,000 to VND 60,000 per ticket.
Tourist boats will have to pay VND50,000 more for each trip. Besides, security fees will also rise by VND50,000, from VND150,000 to VND200,000 per boat per month.
Each boat will also pay between VND500,000 to VND1 million monthly for mooring. Hong said that with the new fees from April 1, each tourist boat operating at these two ports will have to pay several millions more.
"While having to pay more to these ports, we probably won’t dare increase our ticket prices at this time," he said. "We may lose our customers to other destinations, including Lan Ha Bay in neighbouring Haiphong City if we raise prices for our tours and services."
The owner of a tourist boat said that the sudden rise in port services will cause them losses. "We signed contracts with many customers, especially foreign customers a year ago and this sudden rise will cause big losses for us," he said.
The Halong Tourist Boat Association has proposed to representatives of the two ports to adjust their policies to take into account the problem for boat operators and passengers.
