As Lao Dong Newspaper reported, according to the People's Committee of Ha Long City and many owners of tourist boats serving tourists during the day ("voice" boats - charging for boat rental by the hour), recently there has been a situation where boats staying in Ha Long Bay have switched to operating as "voice" boats because there are few tourists staying.
This leads to local overload at tourist spots on routes 1 and 2 due to the large ship traffic, of which the accommodation ships are all large ships.
Not only that, some ship owners request to build accommodation ships but have very few bedrooms, and the main purpose is to serve daytime tourists, with a very large number of guests on one trip. According to some ship owners, large budget overnight ships with only a few rooms, if the main purpose is to welcome overnight guests, will certainly be at a loss.
Previously, the People's Committee of Ha Long City requested the People's Committee of Quang Ninh Province to direct the Department of Transport to study, adjust and supplement Clause 3, Article 11, Draft Regulations on measures to manage the operation of inland waterway vehicles serving passengers and tourists in Ha Long Bay and Bai Tu Long Bay. Accordingly, when the ship has guests staying, it is not allowed to combine with picking up tourists. Accommodation ships that have transported tourists (not staying overnight) are not allowed to participate in the tourist routes of sightseeing ships on routes 1 and 2 of Ha Long Bay and Bai Tu Long Bay.
On August 10, 2024, the People's Committee of Quang Ninh province issued Decision No. 43/2024/QD-UBND on promulgating regulations on measures to manage the operation of inland waterway vehicles serving passengers and tourists in Ha Long Bay and Bai Tu Long Bay.
According to this Decision, the People's Committee of Quang Ninh province assigned the People's Committees of localities to preside over and coordinate with relevant departments and branches to survey, evaluate, propose and report to the Provincial People's Committee; the Ha Long Bay Management Board presides over and coordinates with the Quang Ninh Inland Waterways Port Authority to guide and regulate.
According to information from the Department of Transport, relevant units are currently developing a plan to submit to the People's Committee of Quang Ninh province in the direction that overnight trains that want to pick up daytime visitors can only run on routes 3 and 4 and after rush hours, to avoid conflicts in traffic and destination capacity on routes 1 and 2.
