Street vendors have recently inundated Hoi An Ancient Town, an internationally renowned tourist destination and UNESCO World Heritage Site in Quang Nam Province, central Vietnam.

They persistently approach tourists, obstructing their path and aggressively promoting their products.

This behavior has created a negative impression of the pedestrian area among visitors.

As a case in point, a South Korean couple taking a leisurely stroll in the ancient town found themselves confronted by a local vendor who abruptly displayed a stack of books in front of them.

The two politely waved their hands to refuse to buy the books.

However, the vendor still followed them even when the two visitors turned to another direction.

In the vicinity of Cau Pagoda, a bridge with a history of over 400 years in Hoi An, there are at least eight vendors.

These vendors frequently block the path of tourists and ferociously display their products in close proximity to the tourists' faces.

Some tourists, feeling persistently followed over a considerable distance, opted to purchase products from these vendors to escape the situation.

During the New Year holiday, peddlers were present at every corner of the ancient town.

Many of them sold toys. They stuck to people traveling with children and used the toys to entice the kids.

They even inflated the prices of products by several times.

Vo Dang Phong, chairman of the administration of Hoi An City's Minh An Ward, where the ancient town is located, expressed exhaustion and frustration with these vendors.

Since the ancient town became bustling again, peddlers have flooded the area.

Many of them reasoned that the COVID-19 pandemic forced them to work as vendors to earn their bread, but they have annoyed tourists and left an ugly image in the eyes of the visitors, the official said.

Local authorities have repeatedly punished unlicensed vendors but the situation persists.

Phong added that after having their bicycles and carts seized, the vendors opted to purchase new ones, for their profits from selling goods are significantly higher than the amount they spent on acquiring these vehicles.

According to Nguyen Van Vinh, head of an urban order management team in Minh An Ward, vendors have been disregarding punishments due to the lucrative profits, resulting in chaos in the ancient town.

Hoi An City has issued licenses for only 52 souvenir stalls in the ancient town, and all street vendors who disrupt tourists are unlicensed, Vinh affirmed.

These vendors exhibit aggressive behavior and are willing to hurl insults at those documenting their actions.

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