The hottest spot is the water area in front of the boat dock in the Thien Cung - Dau Go Cave area because this is the most visited tourist destination in Ha Long Bay.
On dry days, the whole water area is turbid by tourist boats coming and going to pick up and drop off visitors. The smoke and smell of gasoline haunt each stream of tourists waiting patiently to get to the cave.
It took a long time for the boat to bring the tourists to the wharf, but it also took too long to take the boat out for another boat to enter; not to mention that the process process of causing frequent collisions between the boats.
The dredging of waterways and areas in front of wharves to access tourist attractions in Ha Long Bay has been recommended by owners of tourist boats and the Ha Long Tourist Boat Association over the years but has not been resolved.
It is known that from 2018 to present, Quang Ninh has not carried out dredging and maintenance of the above points, so when the tide level drops, it does not ensure the depth for tourist ships to enter and exit, so it often causes congestion, posing a potential risk to traffic safety.
Previously, the Ha Long Bay Management Board (now under the Ha Long Bay - Yen Tu World Heritage Management Board) had proposed that the People's Committee of Quang Ninh province consider supporting the dredging of canals and water areas in and out of tourist attractions on Ha Long Bay.
However, after consideration, the advisory agencies of the People's Committee of Quang Ninh province said that there was no basis because this was the task of the Ha Long Bay Management Board.
Meanwhile, according to the Ha Long Bay Management Board, the unit does not have enough funding to carry out the dredging, because each year it only receives 11% of its revenue from selling tickets to visit Ha Long Bay.
According to Resolution No. 88/2017/NQ-HDND dated December 13, 2017 of the People's Council of Quang Ninh province, the Ha Long Bay Management Board is allowed to deduct 11% of the amount from selling entrance tickets to the bay to pay salaries to the team of cadres, workers, and laborers (more than 350 people) and perform professional tasks, including repairing and maintaining assets and facilities assigned to management.
The remaining 89% was transferred to the old Ha Long City and is now transferred to the province for management, after Ha Long City is no longer there.
According to cruise ship owners, no matter which unit manages that source of money, it is impossible not to dredge the canals to serve tourists, because the total amount of money tourists buy tickets each year is up to thousands of billions of VND.
In 2021, it achieved the highest revenue, with nearly 1,200 billion VND. In 2024, Ha Long Bay's revenue will reach more than 900 billion VND and is expected to return to the trillion-dong threshold this year.
Head of the Ha Long Tourist Boat Association, Tran Van Hong, said that tourist boats are being built larger every day while the channel has not been dredged for many years, which is greatly affecting tourism activities in Ha Long Bay, especially the time and safety of tourists and boats.
According to Mr. Hong, in case the dredging is not in time, we should plant buoys, buoys... far outside so that the boats can retreat there to anchor waiting for customers, but until now, it has not been done yet, although Chi hoi and the boat owners have repeatedly commented.
