A group of tourists from Hà Nội were enraged at having to pay an extra VNĐ500,000 to use 10 seats on Đồ Sơn Beach in the northern port city of Hải Phòng last Friday after having seafood at a restaurant.
The tourists publicised a video about the unreasonable charge online, calling for a boycott on Đồ Sơn tourism. One of the tourists said the restaurant served seafood and was obligated to offer seats for their customers.
“Should tourists buy the crabs and eat them while they are standing?” she said.
Vice chairman of Đồ Sơn District’s People’s Committee Hoàng Trung Hiếu on May 28 said that putting chairs on the beach for business was banned and it was illegal for businessmen to force tourists to pay for seats on the beach, Người lao động (The Labourer) newspaper reported.
The restaurant was fined VNĐ2 million for forcing tourists to buy tourism services/goods.
Logic would dictate the VNĐ500,000 would return to the tourists, right?
Wrong, authorities demanded it be given to the State budget.
Something certainly smells fishy here, and it’s not the crabs. — VNS