Nearly a thousand tourists have been stranded on a famous island off the central Vietnamese province of Quang Ngai since Monday due to bad weather and unable to return to work or study after the Lunar New Year holiday.

Visitors traveling to Ly Son Island for their vacation during the Lunar New Year holiday are anxiously waiting for the weather to change and be able to get back to the mainland.

The travelers, who are mainly college students and workers, have expressed their worry as the situation has caused them to miss their trains and flights, with tickets unable to be returned.

Nguyen Thi Thuan Y, a college student in the central city of Da Nang, said that she was supposed to return to the mainland on Tuesday morning to continue her study.

“My friends and I already booked airline tickets to Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh City and are now unsure of what to do. Several travelers in our hotels are also concerned since they cannot get back to work,” Y continued.

Another student, Vo Thi Phuong, stated that she had bought a ticket for the train that headed to the southern province of Dong Nai on Tuesday afternoon.

“Many of my friends have had to abandon their tickets booked in advance and are unable to exchange for new ones,” Phuong added.

Since Monday afternoon, authorities have ordered all passenger boats carrying visitors to and from Ly Son Island to cease their activities due to bad weather.

Many fishing ships in Quang Ngai were also forced to postpone their operations as a result of the unfavorable meteorological conditions.

Under the influence of additional cold fronts, wind speeds in the sea region have been recorded at up to 88 kilometers per hour, Nham Xuan Sy, director of the Quang Ngai Center for Hydrometeorological Forecasting, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper.

“There is a good chance that the wind speed will decrease on the afternoon of Wednesday and that passenger boats can resume their operations,” Sy added.

About 2,000 tourists arrived at the island on a daily basis during the previous week, the Lunar New Year holiday, Huynh Cong Tri, director of Ly Son Port, said.

A total of five passenger boats, which were scheduled to carry the visitors back to mainland Quang Ngai on Monday, were delayed due to the inclement weather, he explained.

Nguyen Thanh, chairman of the People’s Committee of Ly Son, said that he had requested providers of accommodation and catering services on the island not to take advantage of the situation to overcharge the tourists.

Tourists are anxiously waiting on Ly Son Island. Photo: Tuoi Tre 

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