Local businesses have been ripping us tourists off over everything
Readers weigh in on the bad and ugly of tourism in Da Lat and Vietnam in general, especially rogue tour guides who terrorize tourists.
« I visit Da Lat at least once every two years with a group of three families. But after this summer vacation, we have decided to go somewhere else next time. Da Lat is now too crowded and things are getting ever more expensive. The traffic is horrid, and rogue tour guides are everywhere. Vietnam has a lot of regions with similar climate to Da Lat, and even though those regions might be a bit slow in tourism development, basic necessities like food and accommodation are all covered. »
Vuong Nguyen
« In 2009 I and my friend used to wander around the Da Lat Market. At noon, we entered the market for lunch. We had two rice dishes with braised pork and eggs, two small bowls of broth and two cans of soda. The owner charged us VND300,000 ($12.82) for the meal. (This is 10 times the price for a similar meal in HCMC at the time.)
I hope authorities take tough measures in these situations. This way of doing business will surely impact the reputation of such a famous and beautiful location. »
Lecuongn92
« The purpose of traveling is to relieve stress, not to become even more stressed than before. For many years, local businesses have been ripping us tourists off over everything, from parking to food to accommodation. They know there are guests who only visit the place once, so they are not shy about robbing us in broad daylight. If things continue like this, tourism will never take off. »
Vanmy9690
« These ugly behaviors make our tourism lose points. I believe authorities should organize sales networks for authentic local products at the right prices and quality. Other organizations can do it as well as long as they can guarantee the appropriate price range and quality. South Korea does it right. On Jeju Island, local products are sold at the same price as on the mainland. Any shop that sells things higher than they are supposed to can be reported by tourists and are fined or even lose their business license. »
Dang Vinh
« Vietnam does a bad job when it comes to tourism. I visited China once and found them to be very professional. You are taken to the mall, you can eat any sample you want, and you are free to decide if you want to buy a product or not. There were no hard feelings.
The same thing happens when you go to a restaurant. They come to you to let you try their desserts and leave immediately. You can always go to the stalls to buy the food you please if you’re satisfied with it. I felt comfortable throughout the entire trip, everything, from the airport to hotels to malls to tourists sites was clean and orderly. The people were also very nice. If it weren’t for Covid-19, I might have gone again. I was very happy with how they serve customers. It will be great if local authorities can get their tourism strategies right. »
Sally
By Huu Nghi – VnExpress.net – July 25, 2022