Da Nang may create separate beach areas for bathers who wear swimwear Based on complaints from tourists about locals who do not wear swimwear to bathe in the sea, the director of Da Nang Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism recommended separating beach areas for those who wear bikinis.   At the 14th session of the Da Nang People’s Council last week, Mr. Ngo Quang Vinh, Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism said travelers to Da Nang were interested in bathing in the sea here because the beaches are beautiful and the service costs are reasonable. However, many tourists were not pleased to see some women go swimming with sleepwear. "In the coming time, tourism service providers will set up an area for tourists who wear bikini or organize bikini shows on the beach to increase the service value," Vinh said. Commenting on Vinh’s proposal, Mr. Tran Thang, a Vietnamese American, said that it would be better if people wear swimsuits to go sea bathing, but that it was the right of each individual to do what they wanted. Thang said Da Nang should encourage people to wear swimwear or shorts to go bathing, rather than make rigid rules. He said that Da Nang should create a zone for those who wear bikinis and other swimwear and an area for free clothing. "Before thinking of asking people to wear swimwear at the beach, Da Nang should separate the sports area and the canoe service area from the bathing zone to maintain sea hygiene," he suggested. A researcher of Eastern culture, Mr. Nguyen Thieu Dung, said Vinh’s idea is based on international standards, but it may not fit the situation and tradition in Vietnam. He said not many people go bathing in sleepwear. He also said that Da Nang does not have many beaches because the local government has taken a lot of coastal land to build tourism projects. "In my opinion, Da Nang should pay more attention to cleaning the beach and preserving the marine environment," Dung stressed. A balancing act Danang City’s Party chief and People’s Council chairman Tran Tho must have been hailed by the public for giving locals full access to all beaches in the central coast city. Many of the beaches in the city have been off-limits to those who are not guests of seaside resorts, sparking heated debate over whether these resorts or the citizens are actual owners of the public beaches. “Citizens of Danang have the right to access the beaches of the city,” Tho was cited by Tuoi Tre as saying after a deputy of the council complained at a meeting last week that local citizens had been barred from even passing through the beaches allocated to resort investors. But Tho’s bold move must have displeased resort investors who fear that some noisy locals who pass through their resorts might invade the privacy of their guests. If resorts lose guests the city will also suffer in terms of tax collection and job creation. For years, Danang, Quang Nam, Khanh Hoa and other central coastal provinces have extended their red carpet to investors, particularly foreign firms, and given them the most preferential incentives regardless of their impact on local citizens and the environment. Many localities have allowed investors to develop resorts and hotels in the seaside areas with beautiful beaches but many of these projects have not made a move though they occupy beaches. Citizens of Danang have expressed outcries, which has led the local government to withdraw at least three of the 32 lagging projects to make room for public beaches. If a locality had had zoned beaches for local people and considered them the center of tourism development strategies, it would have minimized conflicts of interest between locals and investors and given locals more chances to help diversify tourism products. Reality shows that many tourists are keen to enjoy not only nature but also fishing and other daily activities in the coastal areas they visit. SGT T. Van, VNN