11:00:00 PM
Nguyen Vu
Vietnamese province cleans up image after children beggars spook tourists. Ha Giang, an emerging destination in northern Vietnam, has become more famous for the wrong reason recently.
It
is most famous for the Dong Van Karst Global Geopark, stretching
235,000 hectares (581,000 acres) over four districts of Quan Ba, Yen
Minh, Dong Van and Meo Vac, and recognized by the UNESCO as one of the
77 geological parks in the world.
Vast fields of
buckwheat flowers, stunning terraced rice fields and the diverse culture
of various ethnic communities are also major draws.
Ha
Giang received more than 850,000 visitors last year, an increase of
11.9 percent over 2015, with 176,000 foreign tourists, official data
shows.
Ha Giang Province is taking action to make sure tourists are not put off by recent reports of child begging and reckless drivers.
The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism said in a report on Friday that local authorities are taking these reports seriously, promising to protect visitors to the mountainous province by ending infamous practices that could put tourists in danger.
The new report from the tourism administration also mentioned other issues, including xe om (motorbike taxi) drivers fighting over passengers and local teenage drivers who flout traffic laws.
"These issues have left bad impacts on the image of Ha Giang's tourism and upset tourists," the report said.
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