The Independence Palace caused controversy because it charged a photography fee of up to 10 million VND

“Hearing that there is a fee to bring a camera into the Palace, I’m worried because this cost is ten times higher than the entrance ticket price,” Ms. Mai Vy, Hanoi, planning to travel to Ho Chi Minh City in August, shared. She said she has the habit of bringing a compact camera to take souvenir photos every time she goes out. The regulation of many fees when taking photos at the Independence Palace makes her feel confused and unclear about the subjects of application.

From August 1, the special national monument Independence Palace (belonging to Reunification Hall, Ho Chi Minh City) applies a price list for photography services with a fee ranging from 500,000 VND to 10 million VND for individuals and crews bringing recording equipment into the campus.

According to regulations, visitors who bring a mechanical camera or equivalent device must pay a service fee of 500,000 VND per camera to take photos at the exterior and interior of the palace until 6:00 p.m. on the same day. For crews of up to 8 people, the fee for outdoor photography is 1.5 million VND; Combined photo shoot inside the palace is 3 million VND. The Palace also applies a monthly ticket package of 10 million VND allowing a crew of up to 8 people to take outdoor photos 10 times within 30 days. Commercial activities such as filming movies, MVs, TVCs or high-end fashion photography need to contact the management for agreement.

Mr. Bui Huu Toan, Director of Thong Nhat Hall, said the new fee regulations aim to limit and regulate professional service photography groups – which often occupy beautiful shooting angles for long periods of time, carry bulky equipment, obstruct walkways and affect the visitor experience.

“Regulations on customers using photography services are a tool to regulate space, not to set revenue or profit targets,” Mr. Toan said, stating that revenue sources are managed in accordance with regulations.

Regarding the 500,000 VND fee for customers bringing cameras, he explained that the original regulations were aimed at retail service workers and did not apply to tourists taking souvenir photos.

“Because the wording in the document is not clear, leading to misunderstandings, the management board will review and revise the regulations in section 3 to be more transparent and easier to understand,” Mr. Toan said.

Chuong Tran, a photographer in Ho Chi Minh City, said that on August 1, he went to the Independence Palace to take a yearbook photo for a student guest, carrying a digital camera, without using a tripod or lighting. After buying a tour ticket, he was suddenly asked by the security guard to pay a service fee of 500,000 VND because there was no notice of the fee at the gate or on the premises.

According to him, this fee is quite high for regular tourists or retail customers like students taking yearbook photos. “With professional team photography services, having to pay a fee is natural,” Mr. Chuong said.

Collecting fees for photo ops at monuments and museums is not new. The Vietnam Fine Arts Museum collects 300,000 VND per regular camera, one million VND per wedding photography crew, three million VND for a fashion crew and 5-20 million VND for a documentary filming crew, subject to approval by the Museum Director.

Some monuments choose to be more flexible. At An Dinh Palace (Hue), visitors are free to take souvenir photos after purchasing tickets. The Hue Monuments Conservation Center only charges separate fees for wedding photography, commercial photography or professional filming crews.

In the world, the Louvre or the Palace of Versailles (France) also make a clear distinction: individual tourists are allowed to take souvenir photos according to equipment and space regulations, while professional/commercial activities must ask for permission in advance and may incur fees depending on the scale.

According to Mr. Nguyen Tran Hoang Phuong, Institute of Tourism Research, tourists should not be charged for personal photography because this is part of the experience at the destination. If you want to limit the use of space by a professional crew, you should directly regulate this activity instead of creating a mechanism that misleads guests into thinking that bringing a camera requires a fee.

He believes that fees should only be applied to clear commercial activities such as advertising, music videos, and TVCs, and the management unit can require professional crews to register in advance, limiting people, equipment, time, or working areas, especially during peak hours.

“It is necessary to look at visitors’ photography activities from the perspective of promoting the destination. Images shared on social networks can create communication effects and attract more tourists,” Mr. Phuong said, saying that monuments should prioritize improving experiences and developing tourism products instead of focusing on revenue from photography.