Over the years, sand dune areas in the north of Quang Tri province have formed many points providing off-road vehicle experience services on sand dunes, attracting people and tourists, contributing to opening up a direction for experiential tourism development based on the advantages of the beautiful sand dunes of the locality. However, besides licensed points, there are still cases of operation without being licensed by competent authorities, posing potential safety risks for tourists and people.
According to people's reflections, at a long stretch of sand dunes located next to the coastal road through Hoan Lao commune, the operation of using off-road vehicles to carry passengers to the sand dunes is taking place. The business point is temporarily built with a shack right next to the road. Inside the shack there is a service price list.
According to reporters of Lao Dong Newspaper, when customers asked about the service, a man believed to be the operator quoted a price of 80,000 VND/person to take customers to the top of the hill to visit, take photos and then take them back. If renting an extra sandboard, the price is 100,000 VND/person.
After agreeing on the price, this person used a walkie-talkie to communicate, mobilizing off-road vehicles to pick up passengers. During the experience, passengers were not equipped with any protective equipment. The car moved on the hilly, rugged sandy terrain at high speed.
In mid-August days, the weather is sunny and dry, many motorbikes and cars continuously gather on the side of the road to enter the off-road vehicle experience area. Because the business point is located next to a major road but there is no vacant land to park vehicles, many cars have to stop and park right on the road.
Vehicles enter and exit continuously, at times encroaching on the road surface, even cars parked in the opposite direction. About 10m from this area, a section of sand dunes is landslide onto the road surface. Sand overflowing along with vehicles stopping and parking along the road creates obstacles, posing a potential risk of traffic unsafety.
Not only providing off-road vehicle services, this point also rents skateboards for 30,000 VND/person, with no limit on the number of skateboard trips. According to observations, most participants are young children.
From the top of the hill, children sit on thin plastic planks, with a simple piece of rope tied at the top to hold them. Players are not equipped with protective gear, and the sliding area is not safely zoned, while the slope of the hill is quite steep.
Notably, at times it was already dark but there was no electric lighting system on the top of the sand dunes. Off-road vehicle and sand sliding activities continued to take place in conditions of lack of light, posing potential dangers.
Mr. Nguyen Van Tu - Chairman of Hoan Lao Commune People's Committee - said that the locality has grasped information about some individuals using off-road vehicles to transport tourists. The Commune People's Committee has directed relevant departments to inspect, verify and handle the case according to regulations, in order to ensure traffic safety, safety for tourists and people when visiting.
