VietNamNet Bridge, 23/10/2006
The Central Vietnam’s resort boom over the past few years has been a double edged sword, promising a tourist paradise and a flood of money into the area, but there has also been a negative impact on the lives of many locals.
On the road from Dien Ngoc Commune to the famous Hoi An ancient Town, dozens of resorts have been planned, and re-zoning has forced the local inhabitants off the land, yet behind the fences the resort sites lie dormant.
Nobody can say when building will start, or when the plane loads of tourists will begin arriving.
This situation is causing the vice chairman of Dien Ban district’s Dien Duong commune to “lose his hair”.
In 2001, he said, when the Dien Ngoc – Hoi An coastal road was expanded, many investors took up land between the road and the ocean, almost closing off the area to locals who rely on the sea for their livelihoods.
Since the rash of ground breaking ceremonies five years ago, Khue said, only three resorts have been put into operation. “At first, the locals were very glad, dreaming of a city of resorts,” he said. “But now, the dream is over. People have returned to basic work of rice farming or fishing, but the coast has been cut off by either barbed wire or brick walls.”
Many locals sought to get over the walls in order to find a way to the sea. However, resorts’ guards attempted to stop them or even fought with them. After numerous conflicts the commune’s authorities asked the provincial and district leaders to open two beaches and two roads so that the local fishermen could access the sea again.
