Hội An’s upcoming plan to enforce its admission rules for Vietnamese tourists has inspired negative reactions from the general public.

The Hội An City People’s Committee announced not long ago that starting from May 15, the city will impose more security measures to ensure that visitors to the core area of the Old Town pay the stipulated entrance fee, reports Tuổi Trẻ.

The fee tiers of VND120,000 for foreign tourists and VND80,000 for domestic tourists have been in place since 2012, but for years, mostly international travelers and local tour groups have purchased entrance tickets. According to Hội An officials, every day the town welcomes on average 15,000 visitors, but ticket sales commonly account for only half the visitor number.

Trương Thị Ngọc Cẩm, director of the Hội An Center of Culture, Sports and Communications, told the newspaper that the heightened monitoring is to ensure fairness among all guests. Cẩm explained that local authorities will set up dedicated checkpoints at paths into the central area with separate gates for tourists and residents. Those working at hospitality services in town won’t have to pay the fees.

Additionally, a team of patrol officers made up of Hội An citizens will frequently roam local streets to identify trespassers.

According to Nguyễn Văn Lanh, vice chairman of the Hội An People’s Committee, the venues from ticket sales contribute majorly to Hội An’s budget, 50%–70% of which is used to maintain and restore heritage buildings in the old town.

“The maintenance cost is really significant. Even at the cheapest rate of VND5 billion per historical relic, we can only afford to revamp 7–10 structures,” Lanh shared with Tuổi Trẻ. There are around 1,107 historic buildings in Zone 1, the core area of Phố cổ Hội An, 155 of which are at risk of collapse due to natural wear-and-tear.

[Photo by Chinh Le Duc on Unsplash]