Vietnam’s Central Highlands province ceases elephant ride service

Authorities in Dak Lak Province, located in Vietnam’s Central Highlands region, have decided to halt elephant ride service at a local tourism site, starting from Friday, to preserve the elephants there. During the Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday last month, the charge for an elephant ride was VND500,000 (US$21.2) per two customers. The Dak Lak People’s Committee in late 2022 approved a project supporting the conversion from elephant rides to elephant-friendly tourism models, which required more than VND55.45 billion ($2.3 million). Authorities in Dak Lak Province, located in Vietnam’s Central Highlands region, have decided to halt elephant ride service at a local tourism site, starting from Friday, to preserve the elephants there. Dak Lak Province is now home to 37 elephants, including 22 in Buon Don District, well below the 500 elephants in the 1980s, Thanh Nien (Young People) newspaper reported.