Public transport jammed as tourists surged

As more Vietnamese traveled this April 30/May 1 holiday than ever before, roads, ferry boats, buses and other means of transport in popular tourist destinations countrywide were overloaded.

“I have been waiting for 40 minutes,” said Tran Minh Hung, a tourist who was caught up in long lines of vehicles jamming Binh Khanh Ferry Boat that connects downtown Ho Chi Minh City and the popular tourist site, Can Gio District, yesterday afternoon.

Hung was just one of 50.000 tourists who flocked to Can Gio during the holiday, causing traffic jam at Binh Khanh Ferry.

Trinh Phuong Thai, Director of Binh Khanh Ferry, said the number of tourists visiting Can Gio this holiday was much higher than last year.

He attributed the increase to a tendency to travel closer to home as well as the expansion of Rung Sac Road that connects the inner-city and the ferry.

Though the ferry mobilized all of its seven ferry boats and 100 employees, long lines of vehicles still swarmed the ferry and Rung Sac Road yesterday afternoon as tourists were returning home.

The same situation bugged Cat Lai Ferry in District 2. On April 30, many tourists said they had to wait 2 to 3 hours to get into a ferry boat.

And in downtown HCMC, roads and especially buses were also overloaded. The city had to add 1,000 bus trips to accommodate an increased number of passengers this holiday.

In Vung Tau City, Le Van Ton, head of the Vung Tau People’s Committee Office said 73.000 tourists visited the city this year, increasing demands and pushing prices of services to exorbitant levels.

For instance, motorbike parking lots charged as much as VND20.000 per bike and boarding rooms charged VND300.000 per person per day.

As the holiday wound up yesterday afternoon, the beaches and the coastal roads in Vung Tau were still crowed with tourists. 
The higher number of tourists traveling by motorbike also meant an increase in the number of bikes withheld by police for speeding.

During the two days, the Vung Tau police withheld as many as 3,000 motorbikes, 100 of which were caught speeding.

Some of Vietnam’s most popular cities, Da Lat, Da Nang and Ha Long also received more tourists this holiday than ever before.

100.000 tourists visited Da Lat, increasing by 20% compared to last year, causing traffic jam, long lines of waiting at popular sites, pushing prices of all services up.

Yet it was in Ha Long that prices surged out of control. Modest meals at roadside shops were as much as VND150.000 per serving, and parking lots charged customers up to VND30.000 per motorbike.

In Da Nang, as the holiday coincided with the 4th international firework festival, the number of tourists.
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