The majority of foreign tourists who participated in a recent survey backed an idea to charge a fee for entrance to the Dong Van Karst Plateau Geopark in Ha Giang Province, northern Vietnam.

The survey was conducted by the Ha Giang administration as part of its due diligence while mapping out a plan to collect entry fees for the UNESCO-recognized destination.

“International travelers support an entry fee. They also asked for transparency behind the fee and the costs of developing the geopark,” said Hoang Xuan Don, head of the management board of the Dong Van Karst Plateau Geopark.

Four hundred and twenty-two visitors, which accounted for over 50 percent of the respondents, including locals and foreigners, threw their support behind the entry fee collection for the geopark.

The provincial administration is in the process of completing the entry fee collection plan in order to further develop local tourism.

Don told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper that Ha Giang Province has enhanced its efforts to spur the local tourism industry over the past few years.

The number of tourist arrivals in the northern province is on the rise.

In 2022, the province welcomed over 2.2 million holidaymakers, with 65 percent of them visiting the Dong Van Rock Plateau Geopark.

Despite the massive influx of visitors, Ha Giang Province’s revenue from tourism sat at a modest VND4.5 trillion (US$192.5 million).

Many people said that Ha Giang’s tourism products are mainly natural landscapes, but visitors will not find it easy to access those destinations if there is no trafic infrastructure.

"Funds allocated by the government are not enough to implement all the necessary tourism development projects at the Dong Van geopark,” Don said.

Notably, UNESCO proposed charging travelers to the geopark in Ha Giang in order to increase funding in 2018 and 2022.

The Dong Van geopark features some 40 points that could be used for entry fee collection, but Ha Giang Province charges tourists at just three locations, including the Lung Khuy cave in Quan Ba District, and Vuong’s Palace and the Lung Cu flagpole in Dong Van District.

Between 2017 and 2021, revenues from entry fees for the three sites amounted to a mere VND29 billion ($1.2 million). Taxes plunged the figure to VND17.2 billion ($735,820).

Entry fees at the Dong Van geopark are expected to stand at VND15,000 ($0.64) per ticket for children and VND30,000 ($1.3) a ticket for adults.

The province expects to charge some 1.78 million travelers entering the geopark in 2024, collecting an estimated VND70 billion ($3 million).

The proceeds will be used to protect the destination and develop more tourism products at the geopark.

Founded in September 2009, the geopark sprawls an area of over 2,350 square kilometers in four districts, including Quan Ba, Yen Minh, Dong Van, and Meo Vac.

In 2010, the Dong Van Karst Plateau Geopark was recognized by UNESCO as Vietnam’s first UNESCO global geopark.

Admission to many destinations worldwide encompasses tourism taxes, natural resource protection fees, and tourism service consumption charges.

Many UNESCO-listed tourist sites in Vietnam and other nations currently charge visitors.

Entry fees at the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park in Quang Binh Province range from VND150,000 ($6.4) to VND400,000 ($17), while the Hue Imperial Citadel in Thua Thien-Hue Province charges visitors a fee of VND150,000.

Travelers are charged between VND250,000 ($11) and VND750,000 ($32) to enter Ha Long Bay in Quang Ninh Province.

The Stone Forest or Shilin geopark in China charges tourists 275-280 Chinese yuan ($38-39), while holidaymakers buy a ticket priced at seven euros ($7.7) to enter the English Riviera in the United Kingdom for a night.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!