[NYTr] VIETNAM: Drawing Tourist Dollars - Sans Noise, Sleaze

[All the News That Doesn't Fit]

IPS - Oct 22, 2007
http://www.ipsnews.net/print.asp?idnews=39748

VIETNAM: Drawing Tourist Dollars - Sans Noise, Sleaze

by Helen Clark

HOI AN, Oct 22 (IPS) - 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." (END/2007)