Many tour operators and Ba Lang fishing village in the Ha Long Bay area have complained about a recent regulation issued by the Quang Ninh provincial People’s Committee that bans tour boats from stopping by the village.

According to Do Duc Thang, vice head of Ha Long Bay’s managing board, the province’s regulation aims to prevent tourists from being disturbed, overcharged or ripped off.

Under the regulation that took effect early September, the licenses of violating boat captains will be revoked and those boats will not be allowed to tour around the bay on the next day.

Tourism enterprises cancel tours

Many tour operators informed that they had to cancel some programs which included paying a visit to the fishing village.

“Our customers are mainly Taiwanese and Thai, besides visiting famous tourist destinations, they always want to come to the fishing village to enjoy fresh sea foods,” Bui Quang San, director of Thanh Nien Ltd., Co. said.

“Since they do not trust the food hygiene in Vietnam, they prefer to witness and enjoy how fresh the sea foods are at the fishing village,” he added.

Also, Doan Phi Hung, director of the Viet My Tourism and Investment Joint Stock Company which takes around 3,000 to 4,000 tourists to Ha Long a year, complained that his company has recently cancelled 60% of its tours.

“Our customers said they wanted to delay their tours until November to see if the regulation will be changed. They did it since they want to enjoy local specialties and to have approach to local lives when they visit there,” he added.

Similarly, Nguyen Thi Hang, director of Hoang Phuong Commercial and Tourism Company added all contracts her company has signed with tourists include one item of bringing them to the Ba Hang fishing village.

“Many customers cancelled their tours when I announced we can’t take them there.”

Tour boats has been banned to stop by Ba Hang fishing village. Photo: Tuoi Tre

Local residents lose jobs

After the regulation was issued, 56 households in the village were worried since they suddenly lost their jobs.

“255 residents in the village did fishing for a living. Since 2009, the village has been turned into a tourist destination of Ha Long. Fishers only go fishing at night while their jobs in the day is rowing tourists around caves at Ba Hang village, Nguyen Huu Duyen, head of the village said.

Villager Do Van Huu expressed his fear that there will no food for his 9-member family when no tourist boats visit the village. According to Huu, he and his wife earns around VND3 million ($144) per month from rowing small boats to take tourists to visit surrounding caves.

As the regulation has taken effect, he now has to go fishing at night while his wife weaves fishing nets but they still can’t afford their daily meals.

“If the regulation doesn’t change, we’ll have to go to the forest to find woods to sell since sea foods are dwindling day by day,” Huu’s wife said.

A villager can only takes her kids around the bay by this small boat since she no longer has chances to welcome tourists. Photo: tuoi Tre