Cruise ships in Hạ Long Bay in the northern province of Quảng Ninh. - VNA/VNS Photo Minh Đức |
QUẢNG NINH — A group of five foreign tourists has received help from a cruise ship company on Hạ Long Bay in Quảng Ninh Province after being abandoned by a travel agent at Tuần Châu International Port on Thursday.
The incident was confirmed by Hồ Quang Huy, vice chairman of Hạ Long City People’s Committee.
According to initial reports, the five Spanish nationals had booked an overnight cruise on Hạ Long Bay through Expedia.es, an online travel service.
They paid over 639 euro (more than VNĐ17 million) to stay overnight on the Paragon Cruise vessel.
However, when they arrived at Tuần Châu International Port, the tourists were unable to find the ship.
They made a phone call to the travel company and found that there is no ship with that name.
In order to help and support the five unlucky tourists, PELICAN Cruise Ship Joint Stock Company offered them an overnight stay on their ship for free.
This kind act was highly appreciated by the five tourists as well as people who witnessed the incident.
Earlier, an Australian tourist group was tricked into booking a tour of Hạ Long Bay. But they instead received a tour of the Cát Bà Island area.
After such incidents, Hạ Long City authorities have advised travellers to be cautious when booking tours, especially through online portals.
Visitors can phone the hotline 0911619006 or email halonghotline@quangninh.gov.vn for any issues related to the quality of tourism services in Hạ Long City. — VNS