Hoi An sees fewer ticket purchases as tourism grows

Admission purchases at Hoi An Ancient Town in Vietnam declined to 1.71 million in 2025 despite growing visitor numbers. Pham Thi Thanh Huong, representing UNESCO’s Vietnam office, presented the figures during a development conference convened by Da Nang’s culture, sports and tourism department.

The town attracted around 4.4 million visitors in 2024, but ticket buyers numbered 1.78 million, accounting for about 40 per cent. Huong said visitors who did not purchase admission experienced the heritage setting without making a direct contribution through tickets towards its upkeep.

Residents’ departure was another concern. Huong put the town’s population at just over 3,000 in 2023 and said around 40 per cent of its original homeowners had moved away. By 2024, residents occupied only about 20-30 per cent of heritage properties. Conversions into retail premises and accommodation had reduced the space available for domestic life, ancestor worship and traditional practices.

Huong advocated linking heritage management with housing and residency measures, providing households with greater restoration assistance and returning tourism revenue to communities. Nguyen Thi Hue, from the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences’ Institute of Cultural Studies, urged support for livelihoods so residents could take part in tourism and share its benefits.

The Da Nang Tourism Association called for more varied cultural experiences, saying repetitive attractions and limited nighttime activities offered insufficient incentives for longer or repeat visits. Separately, the Hoi An World Cultural Heritage Conservation Center proposed broadening tourism into surrounding craft villages and natural destinations while keeping the ancient town central to the heritage area.