A Russian-owned villa that reportedly opens its door to all but Vietnamese visitors in the south-central province of Binh Thuan could be turned into a legal tourist destination with help from local authorities, a provincial department director said Friday.
The owners of the villa, located in a secluded area in the resort city of Phan Thiet, will be instructed to complete necessary paperwork to make their property a place of interest, Ngo Minh Chinh, head of the provincial tourism department, said after inspecting the villa on Friday.
A joint inspection team checked the villa after local residents reported that only Russian tourists are allowed inside the property, which consists of a guest house and a showroom displaying several Vietnamese objects.
The inspectors wanted to examine the services on offer at the villa.
The owners, Zhigulev Eduard, 45, and his wife, Kyrstya Ekaterina, told inspectors through a translator that they have been in Vietnam for 15 years and had hired the land plot from a Vietnamese friend of theirs to build the villa.
Eduard has spent years collecting old Vietnamese banknotes, war photos, weapons and traditional costumes to display at the showroom, he said.
On Wednesday, a
Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper correspondent followed a group of Russian tourists to visit the villa and observed that pharmaceuticals, ginseng, and cobra snake wine were also on display at the showroom.
But these objects were replaced with a number of mugs during the Friday check. The Russian man said he had relocated the other items.
“Authorities will help the Russian couples to fix the incomplete legal issues as per Vietnamese law,” Chinh said.
Chinh said the Pegas Co. has brought tourists to the villa, and had expected to pay the owners VND10,000 per passenger.
But no payment has so far been made, he added.
Visitors to the villa will be able to watch a lion dance and take a tour around the showroom, where they can purchase any products they like.
Such a tour lasts for 45 minutes and is organized every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, according to the official.
Chinh said local authorities will not sanction the owners but will help them to turn the villa into a tourism attraction which will “promote the friendly image of Binh Thuan’s tourism sector.”
Binh Thuan is home to the world-renowned Mui Ne beach, which has long been a favorite destination for international tourists, particularly Russians.
Mui Ne resort town in Phan Thiet is also known as the “Russian Village” or “Vietnam’s Moscow,” as Russian holidaymakers outnumber those from other countries.
Binh Thuan received around 61,000 Russian tourists within the first four months of 2014, according to the provincial Department of Culture, Sports, and Tourism.
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