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Vietnam
This Week in AsiaEconomics

Vietnam’s Hoi An counts cost of popularity as mass tourism threatens to overwhelm ancient town

  • Controversial private projects, increase in tourist boat trips near ecologically important mangrove forests have upset conservationists in Hoi An
  • Nearby Cu Lao Cham’s tourism-in-moderation approach seems to be paying off, however, with conservation work prioritised to support island’s ecosystem

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Tourists on traditional basket boats on the Thu Bon river blast music from a mobile sound system. Photo: Tom Fawthrop
Tom Fawthrop
The charming wooden houses of Hoi An have earned the 15th-century central Vietnam trading town a Unesco-heritage tag, frequent hat-tips on Asia’s “must-visit” lists and the adoration of the millions each year, who squeeze through the narrow lanes and pack onto the tourist skiffs which glide along its waterways.

But grumbles about overtourism are increasing, as the town’s population of just 120,000 is submerged by more than 4 million tourists annually, and original artisans and craftspeople are elbowed aside by larger souvenir businesses and tour groups.

Vietnam welcomed 12.6 million foreign tourists in 2023 and the sector is expected to account for 6.4 per cent of the country’s GDP this year.

A short boat ride away, Cu Lao Cham Island is seeking to learn from the perils of popularity enjoyed – and endured – by Hoi An, with an ecological draw card that ecologists say only works if tourist numbers and activities are managed sustainably.

The island also received a Unesco endorsement as a biosphere site in 2009, as part of a loop linking its pristine beaches, coral dive spots and homestays to Hoi An on the mainland.

There are 277 species of coral, 250 fish, crustaceans and 97 types of molluscs flourishing around the island, a feat of conservation made possible by the buy-in of locals, who have cleaned up plastic pollution and got serious about overfishing in the blue waters.

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