After the owners of daytime tourist boats (also known as “voice” boats - rented by the hour) “accused” overnight tourist boats of “encroaching”, recently, the owners of restaurant boats have “accused” overnight boats and “voice” boats of operating like restaurant boats.
In a recent dispatch sent to the Provincial Party Committee, the People's Committee of Quang Ninh province and departments, branches and sectors, a group of restaurant ship owners operating on Ha Long Bay said that recently, many accommodation ships have changed their business model to welcoming tourists "without overnight accommodation" on Ha Long Bay.
In addition, there are a large number of "famous" ships with 48 passengers and 99 passengers operating night restaurants in the waters of Ha Long International Passenger Port, without the permission of the port authority. That has seriously affected the ecosystem of restaurant ships in Ha Long Bay.
To resolve the above situation, ensure compliance with current regulations, and create conditions for the restaurant fleet to develop in accordance with business orientation, the restaurant fleet on Ha Long Bay recommends that the Provincial Party Committee and the People's Committee of Quang Ninh province direct departments, branches and sectors to take measures to manage the operations of inland waterway vehicles serving passengers in accordance with the orientation that ships operating in which field should exploit that field.
Soon have instructions and regulate the tour itinerary of current routes for restaurant ships in Ha Long and Bai Tu Long bays.
Previously, "famous" boat owners also spoke out about the situation of some boats staying overnight in Ha Long Bay but gradually switching to only welcoming tourists during the day.
According to "famous" ship owners, this affects the operations of famous ships, because for a long time, any type of ship usually only operates in the registered field.
There are three main types of cruise ships in Ha Long Bay: day cruise ships, overnight cruise ships, and restaurant ships. For a long time, each type of ship basically operated in its own field, without encroaching on each other.
However, recently, due to the large number of ships and few or unstable passengers, there has been a situation of encroachment to compete for passengers.
Currently, the owners of the three types of cruise ships are still waiting for the authorities to decide.
Ha Long Bay tourist fleet currently has 508 ships, of which over 170 are accommodation ships, the rest are day tour ships.
Meanwhile, there are currently 4 restaurant ships in Ha Long Bay; it is expected that there will be 4-5 more restaurant ships in 2025, including 2 ships with a capacity of 600 - 800 guests.
