VIETNAM: Drawing Tourist Dollars – Without Noise & Sleaze

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As Vietnam vies for a slice of South-east Asia’s tourism pie, it finds itself grappling with a familiar problem – how to let the locals make a living out of the industry while maintaining the peace and exclusivity that foreign tourists seek.

Hoi An, on the coast of Central Vietnam, does not feature in the tourism ads that have started airing on the CNN channels, as part of a push by the government to boost tourist arrivals, but local authorities are keen to promote this UNESCO-listed World Heritage site as a destination.

A trading port from the fifteenth to nineteenth centuries,Hoi An’s rich history and varied architecture are big draw cards for tourists, eager to soak up local culture.

Already some 700,000 foreigners, attracted by its reputation as a peaceful destination, visit Hoi An each year. But as the tourist traffic grows so too have the struggles between authorities and those keen to survive from the industry.

For years now visitors have found that getting quiet time can be hard, with endless cries of “you buy from me” ringing through the streets or over the sand of nearby Cua Dai beach.

Says Tran Van Nhan, deputy manager of the Commercial Tourist Department of Hoi An, “it (tourism) changes the minds of the people gradually. Every minute. Every second. They are hospitable and friendly and then next week very commercial.”

Nhan says there has been an ongoing campaign since January to cut back and regulate the number of hawkers in and around the town. Despite involving representatives from the police forces, tourism department and the culture and information department uniting in a crackdown on street traders, success has been varying. “We would like to organise them, we had name cards, but it didn’t work because everyone wants more.”

Some two months ago efforts were reignited. Though efforts in town remain disorganised, on both sides of the fence, the women who sell fruit, Tiger Balm and knick knacks from baskets on Cua Dai beach have drawn up a self-organised a roster whereby each person works only every second day.

One jewelry seller, who prefers to remain nameless, says, “We don’t want to do this, but we have to for the money.” Now 26, she quit school in grade 8 to sell on the beach. When she started there were few foreign tourists and she sold basic things like peanuts and rice paper to Vietnamese tourists. She has been selling jewelry for three years now and on a good day says she can make 50,000 Vietnam Dong (3.50 US dollars) a day in commissions. She learned English from speaking with tourists.

Vo, a grandmother in her fifties, has been selling for a year. She claims local authorities banned her from offering massages and manicures on the beach, which she did for five years. She now earns less than she did. With far less English than her younger counterpart, she gets by with a few basic numbers recited in English.

Unlike other South-east Asian tourism spots, Vietnam has remained relatively free of obvious signs of the worst effects of tourism — the sex trade. Whilst prostitution is common across the country, there are no girlie shows in Hoi An and “taxi girls” keep a low profile at a few tourist bars.

Prostitution is illegal in Vietnam and few people are willing to openly acknowledge the prevalence of this “social evil”. Officials do not comment on why massages are banned but it is obvious that they are anxious to avoid the sleaze and trafficking that are concomitant to tourism in much of he region.

Locals are divided in opinion over the ever-present hawkers. “They make really good money,” says chef and owner of famed restaurant Mango Rooms, Duc Tran. “I'm offering two million dong (125 dollars) a month, but none of them will work here. I’ve offered (that rate) as they speak good English.”

Vietnam is the second-fastest growing economy in the region and its tourism industry is booming. Vietnam has seen over three million international arrivals this year, an 18.5 percent increase over last year. To meet increasing demand a number of deals to build more four and five-star hotels along the beach and riverfront of Hoi An and the neighbouring city Danang have been made.

Nhan acknowledges the problems on both sides. “We want sustainable tourism and of course it is not easy at all. There should be profit for them (the locals). It’s not a sustainable campaign. The question is how to make all people aware of how to provide a good environment for tourists.”

Yet though the slated high end developments will lure even more tourists to Hoi An, the exclusive nature of these places means that, on the beach at least, visitors get their privacy. Both the four-star Victoria hotel and five-star Palm Garden Resort have their own ‘private’ beaches, strips of sand patrolled by security refusing entry to any but guests.

And it’s very likely that other beachside developments will follow the same model, meaning more tourists but the same, limited amount of space for hawkers.

When asked what she thinks of the new self-imposed roster system, the jewelry seller hesitates then says, “I think it’s a good thing.”

October 23, 2007   Posted in: Vietnam