The fact that male streamer IShowSpeed was "ripped off" when renting an electric car for 100 USD (nearly 2.5 million VND, while normally it only fluctuates around 35,000-40,000 VND/trip) has caused strong outrage in the online community.
It is worth mentioning that the whole incident was broadcast live on social media, attracting more than 100,000 views worldwide, creating a very embarrassing situation about tourists being "overcharged" in Vietnam.
It is worth mentioning that not only did IShowSpeed get overcharged for its services, this "rip-off" was also brazen and challenging when it took place in front of the camera of the team that followed to serve the live broadcast of IshowSpeed's activities on social networks, further increasing the seriousness of the problem.
The situation of "ripping off" tourists, especially international tourists, is not a new phenomenon in Vietnam tourism but has become quite common at tourist destinations across the country in recent times.
This is a clear demonstration of the "forgetting what you have" business mindset. These individuals only see immediate benefits without realizing that their actions are harming the tourism industry, the local economy, and the country's image in the eyes of international friends.
This is a chronic problem, but there is almost no permanent solution for many reasons. One of them is that the approach of many localities is not really strict and drastic. Temporary solutions, lacking deterrence, are not enough to prevent the long-term "price gouging".
On the evening of September 14, immediately after receiving the information, Ben Nghe Ward Police, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City invited two people who rented electric vehicles on Nguyen Hue walking street to work and fined them 10 million VND for "overcharging".
The leader of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism later also apologized to streamer IShowSpeed for the unfortunate incident. The man who rented the electric bike also brought the money back and apologized to the streamer for his behavior.
These are timely and commendable actions and interventions by the Ho Chi Minh City government and the people. However, no matter how fast and timely they are, they are still chasing after the incident, only solving the tip of the problem.
To solve the problem at its root, the Ho Chi Minh City government and other localities should consider the above incident as a lesson. And this lesson is an opportunity for the tourism industry to take more drastic measures, from publicly posting service prices to creating mechanisms to protect tourists from being forced to pay higher prices and being “ripped off”.
"Ripping off" tourists, especially foreign tourists like in the case of streamer IShowSpeed, is not only a matter of lack of conscience and transparency in business but also indirectly damages the national image!
