Since early January, public museums, cultural works, and special national-level relic site across Da Nang have recharged entry fees for visitors after one year of implementing the admission fee waiver. This expects to create momentum for cultural sites to continue to improve the quality of tourist services in the coming time.

Children and pupils to the Da Nang Fine Arts Museum will get free admission, whilst students will be charged VND10,000/person.

Improving service quality

Mr. Nguyen Van Hien, Head of the Authority of the Marble Mountains Tourist Area, said that visitors to the tourist area have to pay VND40,000/person for the entrance fee, and additional VND15,000/person for the use of the elevator. The admission fee of VND20,000/person is offered at the Am Phu (Hell) Cave. For pupils and students, the entry fees to the Marble Mountains and the Am Phu Cave is VND10,000/person and VND7,000/person respectively.

He added that in order to prepare for the collection of entry fees, staff of the tourist site cleaned, repainted and repaired ticket counters, as well as assigned employees to support visitors on New Year's Day. Online ticket booking services are resumed to help travel agencies conveniently bring guests to the tourist area.

He added that the resale of entrance tickets in early 2023 is a good sign for the cultural sector in general and the conservation of the Marble Mountains Tourist Area in particular. According to Mr. Hien, funding for relic restoration and repair of tourist items is mainly derived from ticket sales and a part of the State budget.

Ready to welcome guests back at the beginning of the year, the Da Nang Fine Arts Museum re-arranges the staff to sell and check tickets, as well as upgrades the ticket counter and the entire exhibit space.

Mrs. Nguyen Thi Trinh, Deputy Director of the museum, said that the museum always creates the best conditions for all visitors in order to help them feel comfortable.

After a year of implementing the free admission policy, the museum welcomed about 36,000 visitors, including more than 6,000 foreigners, and added 299 works of arts and artifacts of artistic value to the museum’s collections.

Mrs. Trinh assessed that the implementation of the admission fee waiver helped the museum attract tourists as well as expand cooperation relationships with travel agencies.

She informed, starting from 2023, the return of ticket sales will help the unit proactively develop a plan to restore, embellish, repair and replace damaged items as well as create a new mindset for visitor service.

“The Da Nang Fine Arts Museum serves the needs of people for research, studying, sightseeing and cultural enjoyment. Therefore, the museum still focuses on improving service quality whether it charges entry fees or is free of charge. However, I think ticketing is very necessary, which calls for visitors to join hands with the museum in preserving and promoting the value of the museum’s collections. On the other hand, money collected from ticket sales also helps the museum enhance the quality of visitor service and working conditions of museum staff” Mrs. Trinh said excitedly.

Public museums in Da Nang and the Marble Mountains Tourist Area starts to charge fixed admission fees for visitors from early January, 2023.

Join hands to preserve cultural values

Similarly, the entry fee for the Museum of Da Nang is VND20,000/adult. However, residents of Da Nang and Quang Nam Province, people aged 60 and above, the disabled, students, pupils, and diplomatic guests will enjoy free admission.

Meanwhile, a VND20,000 admission fee for each adult is mandatory at the Da Nang Fine Arts Museum. However, children and pupils will get free admission, whilst students will be charged VND10,000/person.

Director of the Museum of Da Nang Huynh Dinh Quoc Thien affirmed that after a year of accompanying the city to stimulate tourism, this was the right time for tourists to join hands in preserving cultural values in the locality through buying entrance tickets. In order to create a ‘new vitality’, the museum will continue to associate with businesses and travel agencies to organize cultural events to serve visitors.

As noted by our reporters, the ticket resale receives the active support from tourism and travel firms in the city.

Chairman of the city’s Tourism Association Cao Tri Dung said that the Da Nang Tourism Stimulus Programme 2022 themed 'Enjoy Da Nang' significantly contributed to boosting the post pandemic tourism recovery. Till date, the city’s cultural sector needs a helping hand from the tourism sector in order to protect and restore cultural heritages and enhance the quality of service at tourist attractions through the collection of entrance fees.

Reporting by TIEU YEN - Translating by M.DUNG