Mui Ne, long considered a haven for Russian tourists has been experiencing a drop in visitors from the Motherland as they seek out “easier accesses” destinations, reports Thanh Nien.

Known by some as “Vietnam’s Moscow,” the Binh Thuan Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism recently said that the number of Russian tourists has steadily decreased since the beginning of this year, reporting a 28 percent drop from January to April.

Nguyen Duc Tan, director of Focus Travel Company, one of the three main tour operators catering to the Russian market, said that Nha Trang and Phu Quoc Island have become preferred destinations for Russian tourists which are accessible via direct charter flights, while visiting Mui Ne requires a five hour bus ride from Ho Chi Minh City, after spending more than 10 hours on a plane. “So, Mui Ne is no longer a top choice,” stated Tan.

The same sentiment was shared by Turkish-owned Pegas Touristik Company, which brought over 54 percent of Russian tourists to Vietnam last year.

According to Khanh Hoa’s (where Nha Trang is located) Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, “big travel companies targeting the Russian market, including Focus Travel and Pegas, planned to bring some 180,000 Russian tourists to Nha Trang this year, nearly doubling last year’s number of arrivals,” reported Thanh Nien.

In an effort to reverse the trend, Ngo Minh Chinh, director of Binh Thuan’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said that local tourism authorities plan to send a delegation to Russia later this year to seek new partners that are interested in bringing Russian tourists to Mui Ne.

We can hear Mui Ne’s Cyrillic sign and menu makers weeping from here.

[Thanh Nien // Photo via Sam Antonio]