Foreign tourists visiting Hien Lam Cac – The Mieu

After being approved by the Provincial People's Council, Decision No. 69/2014/QD-UBND was issued by the Provincial People’s Committee, dated November 20, 2014, regarding the rates and policy of collection, remittance, management and usage of the fares for visiting historical vestiges in the Complex of Hue Monuments. Accordingly, from 2015 to 2020, the fare to visit Hue Royal Citadel (Imperial City - Hue Museum of Royal Antiques) will be adjusted to 210,000 VND/adult and 60,000 VND/child; the fare to the Tomb of Minh Mang, Tomb of Tu Duc and Tomb of Khai Dinh will be 150,000 VND/adult and 40,000 VND/child. For the Tomb of Gia Long, Tomb of Thieu Tri, Tomb of Dong Khanh, Hon Chen Temple, An Dinh Palace, Nam Giao Esplanade, Hue Flag Tower ... the price will be 70,000 VND/adult/trip and 20.000 VND/child/trip. These changes were applied from April 1, 2015. For travelers and business travelers to gradually adapt, the adjusted fares in 2015 were increased moderately. In the following years, the price will continue to be adjusted depending on the actual inflation.

The Royal Palace of Hue is a heritage complex that attracts about 1 million domestic and international visitors, accounting for more than 50% of the total number of visitors annually visiting the Complex of Hue Monuments. In 2016 and 2017, the Royal Palace of Hue is among the leading tourist attractions in Vietnam, voted and honored by the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism in cooperation with the Vietnam Tourism Association. In order to reduce the burden of investment from the central budget and to increase the revenue from the local investment budget from the ticket sales to serve the cause of preservation, repair and restoration of the complex, Thua Thien Hue strive to achieve a revenue of roughly 300 billion VND from ticket sales in 2020.

After more than 2 years offering a 20% discount for Vietnamese visitors, from September 1, 2017, domestic and foreign visitors to the Royal Palace of Hue will have to pay the same price of 150,000 VND/person/trip. Particularly, for visitors from Thue Thien Hue itself, the fare for visiting all the sites of the Complex of Hue Monuments, including the Royal Palace of Hue will be 50% off.

According to Phan Thanh Hai, Ph.D., director of Hue Monuments Conservation Center, the implementation of the same-price policy could put pressure on Vietnamese tourists, but there are adjusting options with many major discounts on tickets for many different subjects of tourists. Specifically, fare exemption for all domestic visitors on 5 important public holidays (the 1st  to the 3rd  day of Tet, March 26 and September 2 every year), people with major disabilities, children under 6 years old, students in the province; 50% discount for visitors who enjoy preferential policies for cultural enjoyment, handicapped, elderly people, policy beneficiaries group tours and students in the province on school trips...

According to Mr Nguyen Dinh An, Director of Hue Cua Ta Joint Stock Company: "The same-price implementation is a good policy for enterprises operating in the tourism industry, many domestic tourist attractions have applied it for years. I think this would also have a positive effect on the psychology of foreign visitors, making them feel more friendly as being treated equally with the locals. As for the exclusive promotions for Vietnamese in one way or another, it depends on the flexibility of the regulators. There absolutely should not be price discrimination between domestic and foreign guests simply because of favor.

Story and photo: Dong Van