The People's Committee of Hanoi must abolish collecting money asentrance fees at major parks in the inner capital city, the city'sPeople's Council has ruled.
According to thecouncil, some large parks, such as Nghia Do Park in Cau Giay district,Bach Thao Botanical Garden in Ba Dinh district and Reunification Park inHai Ba Trung district, should be opened to the public and its cementwall removed to allow easier access.
"These parksare public areas that serve people seeking to relax, have fun orexercise, not to make money," said Nguyen Thi Thuy, head of thecouncil's Culture and Society Department.
"Citydwellers, especially children and the elderly, have few entertainmentplaces to go to. To open these parks for free means to attract morepeople to these places and encourage them to pay for other services.Thus, these parks will also be improved and upgraded," she said.
The ruling was made after the council finished a survey on major parksin five districts of the city. Currently, there are more than 60 parksand flower gardens, and most collect entrance fees from tourists.
The ticket price is 2,000 VND (0.09 USD) per person in Nghia Do andBach Thao Botanical parks, and between 2,000-4,000 VND (0.09-0.19 USD)per person at Reunification Park and Thu Le Zoo.
Tourists also have to spend more for parking places, using toilets andon tickets for different entertainment services inside these parks.
However, many of the parks have failed to attract tourists due to their poor entertainment services with older equipment.
Nguyen Minh Hong, mother of a four-year-old girl in Cau Giay district,said she seldom takes her child to the zoo, although the zoo is onlyseveral kilometres from her house.
"My child doesn't like those animals. They look tired, out of energy and always suffer from hunger," she said.
"Lions and tigers are supposed to move around and roar wildly, butthey do not in this zoo. Maybe the room is too small for them. Whatthey've done is lying around lazily every time we come," she said.
Nguyen Minh Hung, father of two children in Hoan Kiem district, saidhe chose to bring his children to Tiny World, an indoor entertainmentcentre in Xuan Dieu street, after visiting Reunification Park severaltimes.
"There is nothing interesting inside. Worse,they collect money from children, but adults who wear exercise clothesare free to go in," Hung said.
Hoang Kim Hong,director of the Reunification Park One Member Co Ltd, said the moneycollected from tourists equals about 1.2 billion VND (56,400 USD) eachyear and is used to maintain the operations of the park, such as payingfor security guards and sanitation workers.
According to Hong, the collection of money at entrances also helpsprevent some people from committing crimes, and said the number oftourists will increase uncontrollably if the park is opened to thepublic.
The head of the council's Culture andSociety Department said the model of public parks is popular in manycountries. Thus, the management board of these parks should find aproper way to control them.-VNA
According to thecouncil, some large parks, such as Nghia Do Park in Cau Giay district,Bach Thao Botanical Garden in Ba Dinh district and Reunification Park inHai Ba Trung district, should be opened to the public and its cementwall removed to allow easier access.
"These parksare public areas that serve people seeking to relax, have fun orexercise, not to make money," said Nguyen Thi Thuy, head of thecouncil's Culture and Society Department.
"Citydwellers, especially children and the elderly, have few entertainmentplaces to go to. To open these parks for free means to attract morepeople to these places and encourage them to pay for other services.Thus, these parks will also be improved and upgraded," she said.
The ruling was made after the council finished a survey on major parksin five districts of the city. Currently, there are more than 60 parksand flower gardens, and most collect entrance fees from tourists.
The ticket price is 2,000 VND (0.09 USD) per person in Nghia Do andBach Thao Botanical parks, and between 2,000-4,000 VND (0.09-0.19 USD)per person at Reunification Park and Thu Le Zoo.
Tourists also have to spend more for parking places, using toilets andon tickets for different entertainment services inside these parks.
However, many of the parks have failed to attract tourists due to their poor entertainment services with older equipment.
Nguyen Minh Hong, mother of a four-year-old girl in Cau Giay district,said she seldom takes her child to the zoo, although the zoo is onlyseveral kilometres from her house.
"My child doesn't like those animals. They look tired, out of energy and always suffer from hunger," she said.
"Lions and tigers are supposed to move around and roar wildly, butthey do not in this zoo. Maybe the room is too small for them. Whatthey've done is lying around lazily every time we come," she said.
Nguyen Minh Hung, father of two children in Hoan Kiem district, saidhe chose to bring his children to Tiny World, an indoor entertainmentcentre in Xuan Dieu street, after visiting Reunification Park severaltimes.
"There is nothing interesting inside. Worse,they collect money from children, but adults who wear exercise clothesare free to go in," Hung said.
Hoang Kim Hong,director of the Reunification Park One Member Co Ltd, said the moneycollected from tourists equals about 1.2 billion VND (56,400 USD) eachyear and is used to maintain the operations of the park, such as payingfor security guards and sanitation workers.
According to Hong, the collection of money at entrances also helpsprevent some people from committing crimes, and said the number oftourists will increase uncontrollably if the park is opened to thepublic.
The head of the council's Culture andSociety Department said the model of public parks is popular in manycountries. Thus, the management board of these parks should find aproper way to control them.-VNA
