About 30% of house owners in Hội An's core heritage zone live in Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City, according to figures cited at an October 17 workshop in Da Nang on the ancient town's tourism, Tiền Phong reported. The paper does not say how the figure was measured.
Speakers also said about 40% of original Hội An owners have moved elsewhere. The protected zone covers 130 hectares, and more than 80% of monuments are privately or collectively owned, said Phạm Phú Ngọc, director of the Hội An World Heritage Conservation Centre. The town had just over 3,000 residents in 2023, and only 20% to 30% of monuments still had people living in them in 2024.
Phạm Thị Thanh Hường of the UNESCO Office in Vietnam proposed prioritising households that live in and maintain their homes, covering up to 100% of restoration costs for poor households with badly damaged monuments, and reserving a minimum share of floor area for living and worship when houses are leased for business. Phạm Thị Huệ of the Institute for Cultural Studies said commercialisation and displacement of residents threaten the town more than overcrowding, and warned of "cultural hollowing".
Ngọc said conservation cannot be separated from residents' rights and daily lives. The report notes that many restored houses have become shops, cafés or restaurants.
Sources
This story was compiled by the Da Nang Voice news desk from the published sources listed above. Facts, figures and quotes are attributed to those sources; Da Nang Voice did not conduct interviews for it unless the text says so. Corrections are dated and noted at the top of the story. Read our corrections policy. Spotted an error? Tell us.
