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The incident involving American streamer IShowSpeed being charged dozens of times more than the usual price for renting a hoverboard on Nguyen Hue walking street in Ho Chi Minh City has negative implications for Vietnamese tourism.
IShowSpeed was asked to pay VND1 million (US$41) for the hoverboard while touring the street on Saturday. The transaction was broadcast live on his YouTube channel, which drew comments noting that the service typically costs only VND50,000 ($2) for 15 minutes.
With over 30 million subscribers, IShowSpeed's livestream reached millions of viewers worldwide. As of now, the video has garnered 6.7 million views.
Effective communication is crucial in tourism to attract customers. However, incidents like this undermine efforts to build a friendly and hospitable image for Vietnam’s tourism industry.
The image of a famous streamer being overcharged at a major tourist destination in the heart of Vietnam's biggest city spread quickly, akin to an oil stain. The video could reach tens of millions of views in a few days.
The HCMC Department of Tourism has apologized to IShowSpeed, and the vendor was fined VND10 million. However, the video will remain online for years, and it's challenging to explain to future viewers that the issue has been resolved.
Several questions arise from this incident. Why do unregulated vendors still operate in the middle of the pedestrian street in the city center? Why are hoverboards rented on a walking street? What if the person overcharged were not a famous streamer?
Overcharging tourists has long been a problem, and the IShowSpeed incident exemplifies that this issue persists with serious consequences.
In tourism, many work hard to maintain a good reputation, but incidents like this can severely damage the image of a friendly and hospitable country due to the actions of a few individuals.
