Currently, on Ha Long Bay there are more than 500 cruise ships, of which about 170 cruise ships stay overnight on Ha Long Bay; The remainder are mainly boats that take tourists on daytime tours, also known as language boats (rental boats by the hour).
According to Decision No. 4088/2015/QD-UBND dated December 21, 2015 of the People's Committee of Quang Ninh province "On issuing temporary regulations on the management of cruise ship activities on Ha Long Bay and Bai Tu Long Bay", ships The ship is a dual-use ship: it can welcome overnight guests or daytime visitors, but can only welcome one stream of passengers at a time - either overnight guests or daytime visitors.
However, according to the People's Committee of Ha Long City , currently, the Provincial Department of Transport is advising the Provincial People's Committee to promulgate regulations on measures to manage the operations of inland waterway vehicles serving passengers and tourists on the bay. Ha Long, Bai Tu Long Bay, replaces Decision No. 4088/2015/QD-UBND dated December 21, 2015, which retains the content of cruise management regulations for accommodation ships.
Ha Long City People's Committee believes that this will cause great inconvenience to the transportation system, tourist attractions and conflicts of interest of cruise ship groups.
According to the explanation of the People's Committee of Ha Long City, from the beginning of 2024 until now, many accommodation boat owners have converted their business model to welcoming visitors (not staying overnight), leading to overload of tourist spots. Sightseeing on route 1, route 2 of Ha Long Bay, Bai Tu Long Bay; directly affects the itinerary of sightseeing ships and the rights of sightseeing ship owners regularly operating in the above area.
To completely resolve the above situation and ensure the tourism business environment on Ha Long Bay and Bai Tu Long Bay, the People's Committee of Ha Long City requests the People's Committee of Quang Ninh Province to direct the Department of Transport to research, adjust, Added to Clause 3, Article 11, Draft Regulations on measures to manage the operations of inland waterway vehicles serving passengers and tourists on Ha Long Bay and Bai Tu Long Bay. Accordingly, when the ship already has guests staying, it is not allowed to welcome visitors. Accommodation ships that have transported visitors (not staying overnight) are not allowed to participate in the tour routes of sightseeing ships on routes 1 and 2 of Ha Long Bay and Bai Tu Long Bay.
It is known that since the COVID-19 pandemic, the situation of exploiting the tourist flow has been difficult, so many cruise ship owners staying on Ha Long Bay have gradually switched to welcoming tourists during the day.
When operating as accommodation ships, these types of ships must stop and park at planned locations with sufficient width and deep water, but when switched to pick up passengers during the day, these ships must enter and exit the wharf area. port of famous ships.
Meanwhile, previously built accommodation ships were already larger than famous ships and are being built increasingly larger, while the wharves are increasingly silted up but have not been dredged.
On Ha Long Bay, there are currently 5 tourist routes, of which routes 1 and 2 are always crowded, sometimes even overloaded.
According to cruise ship owners, accommodation ships are often large, with ships carrying hundreds of tourists but unable to access attractions, forcing them to use tenders or high-speed boats for transfer, causing insecurity and pressure on tourists. traffic in the area.
