The female tour guide went online to “unmask” Hue relics, what did the monument management board say?

Tour guide “peeling” Hue

This controversy originated on March 14, Facebooker Tran Oi (Nguyen Thi Ngoc Tran) wrote on Review Hue page. According to Ms. Ngoc Tran, a ticket to visit the Imperial Citadel worth 20,000 VND will include an additional paper card for visitors to visit the Hue Museum of Royal Antiquities.

However, those who want to visit the museum, when buying tickets, must tell the ticket seller in advance to be issued tickets to visit the museum. Ms. Ngoc Tran said that “never” saw staff advise guests or actively bring tickets to visit the museum for guests, even though the ticket price is 200,000 VND including the package of 2 places.

“If you just go to the Museum but don’t want to go to the Citadel, you have to buy tickets up to 200,000 VND, because tickets are not sold separately. Wow, what kind of business is that! That’s too much pressure!” – Ms. Tran wrote a review.

It is known that Ms. Ngoc Tran is a tour guide (HDV) from Hue, often leading tourists to visit this famous place. She also “unmasked” Hue Monuments Conservation Center does not provide visitors with maps, making it easy for visitors to get lost in the Citadel. Meanwhile, Thai Hoa Palace is the most important attraction but is not allowed to enter. According to Ms. Tran, the money spent to buy tickets is not worth what is received in return.

“I may be the first tour guide, a rare number, to speak these truths, but for the sake of customers and the long-term reputation of tourism, I must say“, the female tour guide explained the voice “unmasking” the relic management unit.

The sharing of female tour guide on Hue Review page.

Immediately after the above review was posted, there were hundreds of comments and shares.

“Selling beer with peanuts, but hiding them, only those who ask will bring them out. Children 13-18 years old are charged the same price as adults. The scale of the mausoleum is similar to the Temple of Literature – Quoc Tu Giam, the historical value is not equal to the Temple of Literature, but the ticket price is 5 times higher. Temple of Literature is also free for children under 15 years old and 50% off for students.

“Suppose I go by myself without a tour guide? I see that you are very right, what is wrong needs to be corrected. The inner city is like a maze, the ticket price is 200,000 VND, so there is no reason not to print a guide map. And the ticket should separate which one from that, otherwise it’s like defrauding people who don’t know.”

However, there are also opinions that contradict the views of female tour guide Ngoc Tran. “I lived in Hue for 27 years and still got lost in it. But I like it very much, because of the curiosity of self-discovery. If you work as a tour guide, you have to learn to guide guests so that they have their own characteristics, but just like other people, it’s boring”, a facebooker named Long commented.

According to Ms. Pham Thi Dieu Huyen – Director of Truly Hue Moc Company, who used to have “seniority” for more than 3 years, selling sugarcane juice at the entrance to the Citadel, Vietnamese customers often go to the Citadel very quickly, the time they stay very short stay in the Citadel. Even if you go with a group, even if you are thirsty, you will not be able to stop to buy a glass of sugarcane juice. For individual guests, they also go from the entrance and exit to the exit gate of Hien Nhon. The time to go to the end of the Citadel is also very little, and they often say “sunshine, tired feet, can’t see anything”. Meanwhile, foreign tourists often visit the Citadel for more than 3 hours or a whole day. There are even foreign tourists who spend 2-3 days just looking at every detail in the Citadel.

“This is me statistics on visitor habits based on the fact of more than 1,000 days of listening and surveying. I see the Citadel is still changing and changing every day. Maybe due to translation, it is still not synchronized and unified. But still very proud, coming to Hue should go to the Citadel”, Huyen shared.

Tourists visit Hue Citadel on the first day of reopening tourism, March 15, 2022.

What does the Monument Management Board say?

Before the reflection of female guide Ngoc Tran, Hue Monuments Conservation Center officially gave an explanation. According to this Center, in the past, the attraction of Hue Museum of Royal Antiquities had almost no visitors, the number of visitors was scattered and accounted for a very small proportion compared to other attractions, although this is a An important relic site, is one of the oldest museums in Vietnam, where the most complete storage and display of artifacts marking the life of the Nguyen Dynasty is kept.

To make the museum more known to more people, the Center has developed a plan to combine the attractions of the Citadel with the Museum site. On that basis, the People’s Committee of Thua Thien – Hue province has agreed in writing to allow the Hue Monuments Conservation Center to temporarily suspend the issuance of tickets to visit the Citadel to focus on issuing tickets for the Citadel route. – Hue Museum of Royal Antiquities, applied from April 16, 2013; and the time to adjust the entrance fee in 2014, the ticket price of Hue Royal Palace was officially regulated in the Resolution of the Provincial People’s Council.

When buying tickets to visit the Citadel, visitors will be given a ticket (free) to visit the Museum of Royal Antiquities (with additional distribution at the exit gate of Hien Nhon). However, due to shortcomings in performing tasks at some stages, some visitors have not/did not receive vouchers.

The application of Hue Imperial Palace combined ticket (Citadel – Museum of Royal Antiquities) has been implemented from 2013 to present. However, up to this point, the issuance of combined tickets without individually issuing tickets for each destination revealed a number of limitations and inadequacies in the choice of destinations for tourists to visit. In this regard, the Center is developing an adjustment plan, proposing appropriate solutions to submit to all levels for consideration and approval.

According to the Center, the Citadel area is a large tourist attraction with many relics. Therefore, in 2020, the Center has invested in a system of signposts to serve visitors. From the end of 2021 until now, the Center is under construction Directions App to serve visitors. Visitors when visiting the Citadel area, only downloading the App on their smartphones (free of charge) will get the necessary information such as information about attractions, service points, toilets, art programs, etc. art, suggested sightseeing routes, exits…. In addition, the Center is also developing a map of the Citadel area with road numbers to facilitate visitors when visiting.

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