When the Phan Thiet - Dau Giay and Phan Thiet - Vinh Hao expressways are opened in the summer of 2023, not only on weekends, but almost every day, Binh Thuan will be bustling with tourists. According to the latest data from the authorities, in May, Binh Thuan welcomed more than 800,000 visitors to visit and relax, a dream number for the tourism industry since the Covid-19 pandemic. With that number of visitors, not only did the room occupancy rate reach 85 - 95%, but most restaurants and eateries also benefited, with the number of visitors increasing 2 - 3 times compared to normal days.

It can be seen that visitors to Phan Thiet in particular and Binh Thuan in general all want to enjoy fresh seafood here, then buy fresh seafood to bring back as gifts. Therefore, the demand for seafood consumption exceeds supply is inevitable. In addition, seafood production from the sea is increasingly scarce, the weather is erratic, more boats stay on shore than go out to sea, so when there is fresh seafood, restaurants are forced to stock up, so that the menu of the restaurant is always rich and the price increases slightly, which is also obvious. Many restaurant owners said that seafood prices are high but there is no product to sell, large snails, type 1 crabs cost around 600,000 - 700,000 VND/kg, large silver shrimp also costs 500,000 - 600,000 VND/kg, lobsters and mantis shrimp cost over a million VND, there are many types of squid but they are at a high price of 400,000 - 600,000 VND/kg... A restaurant owner added, "That does not include food processing fees, service fees... Therefore, customers' "disclosure" is not very objective, because it is not clear what type of seafood the customers choose, how big or small. Besides, the restaurant has posted prices clearly, buying and selling are fair, so if you think they are "ripping off" tourists, you should reconsider. Business is difficult now, no one is foolish enough to kick their own "rice bowl" down".

However, many people think that although it is a coastal city, the price of seafood is too high. Binh Thuan tourism is attracting tourists, if restaurants "follow the trend" and increase prices indiscriminately, tourists will choose other places to stay. Many people ask the question "traveling to the sea and islands but eating seafood is more expensive than in Saigon, isn't that very unreasonable?". They think that some people working in tourism seem to still have the mindset of "eating quickly" by selling to passersby, "pickpocketing", "ripping off" to the fullest. That way of doing business only makes us fall further behind.

From the writer's perspective, we do not intend to defend this restaurant, nor do we think that the customer's reflection is wrong. But the price of seafood between the restaurant and the market is completely different. The owner of a seafood warehouse in Phan Thiet analyzed: "Normally, grade 1 seafood is rarely sold in the market, because this is a high-end product, ordered by restaurant owners. In the summer, there are many seafood orders but not enough to supply. We collect goods from many places both inside and outside the province, so the seafood that comes to the restaurant is all fresh, large, firm meat, and cannot be compared with the prices in the markets. Maybe some restaurants are dishonest, setting the price of grade 1 but giving customers grade 2, 3, or mixing farmed goods with natural goods. As for Phan Thiet seafood, if tourists eat at the right place, with the right type, then a few million VND for a seafood meal is not too expensive."

It can be seen that the story of "exposing" is only a minority, but it greatly affects the reputation and image of local tourism, because tourists are very afraid of cheating and "ripping off" at tourist destinations. Currently developed tourism countries do not use the number of visitors per year as a criterion for evaluation. What they care about is the number of visitors who choose to return after the first time. Binh Thuan tourism is on the path of strong recovery after the pandemic and has benefited greatly since the two expressways were opened. Every guest is a guest, all are equally valuable. If we still do business in a snatch-and-grab manner, not only will foreign visitors not dare to come to Binh Thuan, but domestic visitors will also "run away". If we do not change our business mindset, then do not ask why tourism in our province is always fluctuating.