Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng Tourism site in Quảng Bình Province. Fees for tourism services will be cut to attract more visitors. Photo toquoc.vn

QUẢNG BÌNH — Authorities in the central province of Quảng Bình have approved a plan to cut entrance fees to a series of natural beauty spots in half from now till the end of the year.

The large discount, which will be applied to tours of some famous caves in the area, aims to attract more visitors and stimulate tourism development in the province after the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the provincial People's Council at a working session this week.

The meeting was held to discuss urgent issues including those related to tourism challenges for the rest of 2020 and find solutions to help tourism enterprises overcome obstacles amid the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Specifically, tours that take visitors to Phong Nha Cave will have entrance fees reduced from VNĐ150,000 (US$6.5) to VNĐ75,000 ($3.2) per person.

The rate for entrance fees to Tiên Sơn and Nước Moọc caves will be down from VNĐ80,000 to VNĐ40,000 each.

Fees for visiting Thiên Đường and Mẹ Bồng Con caves are discounted from VNĐ250,000 to VNĐ125,000, respectively.

Meanwhile, the cost for other tours will also be reduced by 50 per cent including the route through Rào Thương - Én - Nước Lạnh caves which is now at VNĐ240,000 and Tú Làn cave system, which is VNĐ140,000 for four days and three nights visiting a total of seven tourist spots.

In particular, those who want to conquer Sơn Đoòng – the largest cave in the world – will now have only to pay VNĐ4.4 million for the entrance fee per person.

Moreover, tourists will benefit from discounts on transportation costs, accommodation and food at restaurants during the tours, according to the provincial tourism authority.

Quảng Bình Province's Department of Tourism said that, since the beginning of the year, due to the effects of the pandemic, the number of tourists to the locality dropped sharply but it has begun to recover since the social distancing measures were eased and the province opened its doors to welcome visitors back.

The department said the number of visitors at weekends has started to increase.

It revealed an approximate number of 35,000 people visiting the province during the 45th anniversary of the liberation of the South and National Reunification Day on April 30 and May Day. The visitors mainly came from Hà Nội and neighbouring provinces.

The provincial tourism authority has directed tourism businesses in the province to change the structure of the tourist service market from serving foreigners to focusing on domestic customers and diversify tourism products with more reasonable prices to meet demands of tourists with new conditions of operation due to the pandemic. — VNS