Hoi An ancient town in central Quang Nam province will not go forward with plans to collect entry fees from tourists, according to local authorities.

The ancient town had earlier planned to collect entry fees from all tourists from May 15, to boost funds for conservation efforts. However, the plan was met with public concern.

Hoi An Party Secretary Tran Anh said authorities will meet with local people and businesses to identify a solution that can secure public consensus and then move forward with implementation.

It needs to learn from the experience of other localities and other countries to find an appropriate solution, and fees will only be applied to actual tourists, he said.

“The new fee collection plan is related to different sectors in society and affects local people, so we propose the People’s Committee retain the existing fee collection scheme,” he said.

Under that scheme, Hoi An collects VND120,000 ($5) from foreign tourists and VND80,000 ($3.3) from domestic visitors at certain sites inside the town.

Some 50-70 per cent of collected fees are used for heritage conservation. Local authorities said around 14 per cent of the 155 relic sites in Hoi An are in need of upgrading.