huge demand
While Hai Phong and Quang Ninh continue to discuss connecting Ha Long Bay to Cat Ba tours, mainly Lan Ha Bay of Cat Ba, the tourist boats of both sides have been "stealing" tourists to visit each other for many years. The representative of the Ha Long Bay Management Board admitted that the situation of tourist boats from Cat Ba taking tourists, especially European and American tourists, crossing the border to "illegal" tourism in Ha Long Bay has been happening for a long time.
The places that Cat Ba tourist boats take tourists to "illegally" visit on Ha Long Bay are located in the Ba Ham Lake area and not far from the border between Ha Long Bay and Cat Ba archipelago. There are days when 2-3 ships take visitors, and on winter days when it is winter, about 4-5 ships.
However, according to the representative of the Ha Long Bay Management Board, the authorities only reminded ship owners and captains and explained to tourists and asked them to leave the area, not to make a record or fine.
Meanwhile, tourist boats on Ha Long Bay also frequently cross the border, bringing tourists to Cat Ba. The places that tourist boats on Ha Long Bay take tourists to visit on Cat Ba are Sang To Cave and Viet Hai ancient fishing village...
However, unlike Ha Long Bay, Cat Ba, visitors must buy tickets for any tourist attraction that sells entrance tickets, not be required to return.
According to some ship owners on both Ha Long Bay and Lan Ha Bay, each side has different strengths, so they can complement each other, making the sightseeing itinerary attractive and diverse for tourists, especially for those who go on long overnight tours at sea.
Mr. Nguyen Duy Phu - Chairman of Lan Haaries, an association of more than 60 overnight ships on Lan Ha Bay, Cat Ba - is currently wasting natural resources, while the needs of tourists are real and huge.
Mr. Phu said that worrying about traffic conflicts or overload when tourist ships passing between the two sides is unnecessary, because the border points between Ha Long Bay and Lan Ha Bay are currently very deserted. He also suggested that tickets should be calculated based on the destination instead of requiring tourists to buy tickets for the entire route, because that is unreasonable.
Opening a new route but difficult to connect
In order to connect tourism between Ha Long Bay and Cat Ba archipelago, Quang Ninh province has just opened a new tourist itinerary - Ha Long Bay 6 Journey, with the route: Ha Long or Tuan Chau - Hon Chan Voi - Ba Cua Cau - Tung Lam Island - Hon Cau Bai (the end point of the journey adjacent to Gia Luan, Lan Ha Bay, Hai Phong) and vice versa.
Currently, if Ha Long Bay tourist boats want to serve tourists, they can only run to the border point between Ha Long Bay and Lan Ha Bay, while boats in Lan Ha Bay cannot go to Ha Long Bay because Quang Ninh and Hai Phong have not yet decided to connect, except for boats running "illegally".
However, tourist boats on Ha Long Bay are not expected to take tourists on this route because there are no tourist attractions that allow tourists to visit.
Partly because of the above reason, the owners of tourist boats in Lan Ha Bay said that even if the route was opened, they would not take tourists to this route.
Not to mention, with a ticket price of 150,000 VND/person/day, tourists traveling on the overnight train will definitely have to pay 300,000 VND/person/tour, because the accommodation ships will not be able to return the same day, and the next day they will have to pay an additional 150,000 VND.
"The cost will eventually be included in the tour cost that the tourist must pay, but if you have to pay 300,000 VND and cannot visit any attraction, will the tourist be willing?" - a tourist boat owner in Lan Ha Bay asked.
Mr. Vu Kien Cuong - Head of Ha Long Bay Management Board - said that currently, the relevant parties are continuing to discuss solutions and mechanisms to advise the People's Committees of Quang Ninh province and Hai Phong city, not only in coordinating general heritage management but also connecting tours.
