Overnight tourist fee proposed for Vietnam’s Dong Van geopark

Vietnamese and international tourists spending the night in Dong Van Karst Plateau geopark would face a visitor charge under a proposal being put to public consultation by provincial authorities. The proposed rate is ₫30,000, but officials have yet to settle how collections would work.

Hoang Xuan Don, who heads the geopark’s management board, told Tuoi Tre that guests would probably make payments through their accommodation providers. He said public service units overseen by commune administrations were expected to process the payments.

The plan assigns communes inside the geopark 40 per cent of the proceeds. The other 60 per cent would enter the state budget, supporting heritage protection and sustainable development.

The geopark received approximately 2.3 million visitors during 2025, or 60 per cent of all tourist arrivals in Tuyen Quang. Annual local government spending on the geopark is around ₫100 billion, covering conservation, environmental protection, roads, parking, waste services and upkeep of tourism facilities.

Guy Martini, a UNESCO Global Geoparks Network executive board member and senior expert, endorsed charging visitors but emphasised financial transparency and concrete benefits for residents. Associate Professor Tran Tan Van, formerly director of the Vietnam Institute of Geosciences and Mineral Resources, regarded ₫30,000 as relatively low and favoured gradual increases.

An overnight fee resolution approved in 2023 by the former Ha Giang Province’s People’s Council received mixed reactions. In a provincial tourism department survey, introducing a charge was supported by 92 per cent of tourism businesses and 85 per cent of visitors. However, the ₫30,000 rate was judged appropriate by 78 per cent of businesses, compared with only eight per cent of tourists.