Since the implementation of the admission fee waiver which is valid from 1 January to 31 December 2021, the Marble Mountains Tourist Area, along with museums and relic sites across Da Nang, has attracted more crowds of both locals and visitors.

The admission fee waiver creates an opportunity for local museums to promote their images to visitors. Local students are pictured visiting the Museum of Da Nang.

There is no denying that the admission fee exemption policy has proved highly effective in drawing a large number of tourists back to local beauty spots.

Every weekend, the Marble Mountains scenic relic, located in Hoa Hai Ward, Ngu Hanh Son District seems to be more bustling with many groups of visitors, many of whom are domestic travellers in groups, independent tourists, plus students and locals.

Trinh Hoai Nam, a male tourist from the northern province of Nam Dinh, applauded the admission fee waiver for helping him save some money during his Da Nang trip. 

As recorded in the first quarter of this year, about 45,000 domestic and around 550 international tourists visiting this highly popular attraction. This is a positive sign showing that effectiveness of the city's travel stimulus programme after a long absence of tourists.

In a similar vein, during the review three-month period, the total number of visitors arriving at the museums of Da Nang, Fine Arts and Cham Sculpture reached 20,300.

Both locals and visitors hailed the entrance fee exemption for clearly demonstrating the local administration’s agility and initiative in promoting Da Nang as one of Viet Nam’s attractive tourism magnets.

It may be wonderful as everyone who comes to the eligible tourist sites will enjoy free admission whilst being served well by enthusiastic and polite employees there.

Although the current entrance fee exemption and reduction may affect the museum’s revenue next year, the stimulus policy is hailed as a best way to stimulate travel demand amongst domestic holiday markers, especially coming against the backdrop of the global COVID-19 crisis.

Also, the admission fee waiver offers a good opportunity for both locals and tourists to learn about the culture and history of the city, as well as for these museums to promote their invaluable values to the community.

In particular, the Museum of Cham Sculpture has selected highly skilled and experienced museum guides to best serve tourists in addition to automatic audio guides. In the time to come, impressive Champa dance shows are expected to take place at the museum's yard so as to increase visitor numbers.

Previously, Ms Nguyen Thi Trinh, Deputy Director of the Da Nang Fine Arts Museum, said the city's free museum entry policy was an opportunity for museums in Da Nang to renew themselves, rearrange their exhibition spaces, organise more exhibitions, and get closer access to tour operators that will bring more tour visitors to their museums in the future.

According to Mr Dinh Van Loc, Managing Director of the Viet Da Tourism Joint Stock Company, tourists coming to Da Nang over recent times have showed their keen interest in booking tours to such highly familiar and impressive attractions as the Marble Mountains Tourist Area, the Son Tra Peninsula, the My Khe Beach and museums.

The deployment of free entrance to attractions, therefore, serves as an opportunity for travel agencies to facilitate the formation of low-cost travel tours and products suitable for each type of visitors.

Reporting by VAN HOANG – Translating by A.T