Ha Long Bay was recognized by UNESCO as a World Natural Heritage on December 17, 1994. Nearly 1 year later, on December 9, 1995, the Ha Long Bay Management Board was officially established, an agency under the People's Committee of Quang Ninh province, responsible for comprehensively managing the conservation, restoration, embellishment and promotion of the heritage values of Ha Long Bay.
However, it was not until 1996 that this unit started selling tickets to visit Ha Long Bay. According to the Ha Long - Yen Tu Bay World Heritage Management Board (established on the basis of reorganizing the Ha Long Bay Management Board, Bai Tu Long National Park Management Board and the Monument and Scenic Landscape Management Board under the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism from November 10, 2025), in the period of 1996 - 2025, the Ha Long Bay World Natural Heritage welcomed over 60 million visitors, including over 33 million domestic visitors; tourist fee collection reached over VND 9,500 billion.
This revenue has helped to contribute significantly to financial resources for improving infrastructure, education, healthcare, security and for heritage conservation.
At first, the total amount of money earned each year from selling tickets to visit Ha Long Bay was mostly only a few tens of billions of VND, because there were not many visitors and the tour prices were low.
After a number of adjustments to ticket prices and the number of visitors gradually increased, revenue gradually increased and reached VND1,000 billion in the years before the COVID-19 pandemic. Of which, 2021 achieved the highest revenue - nearly 1,200 billion VND, with the reception of nearly 4.4 million visitors, including nearly 2.9 million international visitors.
Currently, the ticket price to visit Ha Long Bay during the day is from 200,000 - 250,000 VND/person/time, depending on the tourist route.
Meanwhile, the entrance fee for overnight guests on Ha Long Bay ranges from: 500,000 - 550,000 - 650,000 - 750,000 VND/person/time, depending on the tour.
According to Resolution No. 88/2017/NQ-HDND dated December 13, 2017 of the People's Council of Quang Ninh province, 11% of the total revenue from selling tickets to visit Ha Long Bay is reserved for the Ha Long Bay Management Board; the remaining 89% is reserved for the old Ha Long City. After the no longer having a district-level administrative unit, 89% of the proceeds from selling tickets to visit Ha Long Bay will be transferred to Quang Ninh province for management.
