One Small Step for Vietnam

Vietnam’s government decides “Soak the Rich Foreigners” is not a good policy for encouraging more tourists to visit

In a two-sentence announcement earlier this month, Vietnam’s government made a monumental change of strategy. From January 1 onward, foreigners and locals will pay the same price for flights on the national carrier. The second sentence was the one that really got my attention: “This effort of the national carrier could be followed by other service sectors towards integration.”

Why is this news? you may ask. And you may ask that if you’ve never been to Vietnam. Anyone who has spent some time there, especially as a budget traveler, knows that the two national pastimes are cockfighting and ripping off tourists. Ever since the country cracked open the door to tourists, gouging foreigners has become an entrenched habit. The example was set by
the highest government officials and quickly trickled down to the lowest street vendor selling baguettes or noodle soup. There is a two-tiered pricing system for nearly all admission tickets and restaurants will commonly have two menus: one in Vietnamese and one in English, but with very different prices. Old women selling pineapples on the street will refuse to sell one to you unless you pay at least double the local price, even if it means losing the sale. Food and drinks are still a great bargain compared to western prices, but it’s a grating situation to get used to if you’ve just come from a tourist-friendly place such as Thailand.

But progress is happening. Tourists used to pay five times the local rate for internal flights and for the pitifully rickety train system. A few years later it was only double (but partly because prices for the locals went up a lot.) The differential has continued to ease in the past two years and it next year it’s going to be even.

This is a real sign of progress, on top of other signs the government is ready to start competing with other countries in the region. More resorts are being built, which I have mixed feelings about, but at least it shows that building approvals are getting easier. Even more important, the pitiful infrastructure is seeing some much-needed investment. Crews are building much-needed roads and tunnels. The train system from the far north to Hanoi is getting an overhaul.

I recommended Vietnam in The World’s Cheapest Destinations , but with some reservations. Beautiful country, good food, and a lot of interesting things to see. We had a great time while we were there and have some fantastic photos to remember it by. But like a lot of visitors, I got annoyed nearly every time I pulled out my money pouch, so that part got old fast. With the way things are headed, future visitors should get steadily less annoyed, which is good news for everyone—except the scammers.

In other news, USAir will begin direct flights to Vietnam in March, 2004, paving the way for easier connections and more convenient package deals.