Tourism businesses in Vietnam’s Nha Trang hurt by ineffective public administration

Over 100 owners of hotels and restaurants and tour operators in Nha Trang, the capital city of Khanh Hoa Province in central Vietnam, voiced concerns at a meeting on Friday that their business is being affected by local authorities’ unprofessional administration, haphazard inspections, and construction works left unfinished for a long time on the beaches.

Nguyen Xuan Thuy, director of a local travel company and one of the Khanh Hoa Tourism Association’s leaders, lamented that several travel businesses have seen multiple inspections within a year.

“The inspections are carried out just like wartime raids, which are both impolite to tourists and take a toll on the businesses’ reputation and operations,” Thuy stressed.

Meanwhile, Bui Minh Thang, director of Phuong Thang Co., proposed that the provincial People’s Committee seek local businesses’ opinions before releasing policies to minimize regulations which may pose problems.

Such disputable regulations include bans on parking vehicles in front of hotels on Tran Phu Street, one of the city’s major streets, or unreasonable speed limits on such streets as the Khanh Le-Da Lat pass road and the Pham Van Dong section which faces the city’s north.

Andrey Smirnov, of Anh Duong Co., concurred with Thang’s proposal, adding that the parking bans on Tran Phu Street have resulted in an unkempt look and placed hotel owners at a major disadvantage.

Le Ngoc Nang, director of Hoang Son, pointed out that Nha Trang’s tourism appeal mostly lies in the charms of Nha Trang Bay.

“However, the beaches in Nha Trang are messy, with certain areas zoned for construction sites or trading or enclosed for certain purposes,” he added.

He thus called for the clearance of such construction sites on the beaches, which undermine their beauty and disrupt tourism.

Business owners need to look at themselves

Tran Son Hai, deputy chair of the provincial People’s Committee, admitted the limited range of activities conducted by the province’s Tourist-Tourism Assistance Center.

Several local businesses do not even know the center’s hotline.

He also acknowledged inadequate sea rescue and time-consuming police handling of thefts and robberies.

However, Hai urged business owners to take a close look at their services, including the keeping of tourists’ belongings and valuables.

He also pointed to the current shortage of quality human resources in tourism, and proposed that the Department of Culture, Sports, and Tourism and businesses “take one step ahead to avoid the local labor force’s defeat by those from other ASEAN countries in the coming time.”