The information was given by Nguyen Van Son, chairman of the municipal people’s committee, at a press conference on Thursday.
The fees are VND120,000 (USD5.12) for foreign tourists and VND80,000 for Vietnamese people.
Tourists in Hoi An (photo by Hoai Van)
Visitors in groups will have to buy tickets from Thanh Ha Parking Lot and the two others at 332 Ly Thuong Kiet Street and Long Tuyen Pagoda. They then can travel to the town by electric vehicles.
It is not compulsory for individuals to purchase tickets, but they can make voluntary payments, Son said.
The city claimed collecting entry fees for tour groups was necessary to help upgrade the city’s tourism facilities.
Tourist numbers to Hoi An have risen after the Covid-19 pandemic, particularly during holidays. This has created further pressure on tourist sites.
Representatives from 25 tourist firms agreed on the necessity to tighten control over charging tickets on tour groups at a recent meeting with the authorities. Taking advantage of Hoi An's range of tourism stimulus programmes following the pandemic, many travel firms skipped ticket purchases and were fined.
In 2019, Hoi An collected VND300 billion (USD12.76 million) from entrance fees. The figure fell to just VND32 billion last year. So far this year, despite higher tourist numbers compared to last year, the revenues have reached just VND40 billion, Son said. So, the city needed to have more drastic measures to avoid entry ticket-related losses.
