The Draft Resolution for Fining Tourism Administrative Violations, replacing Resolution 149 of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, imposes heavier fines and amends new groups of violations. This is a necessary sanction for management, but in reality, the fines sometimes cause difficulties for travel agencies.
According to statistics of the General Directorate of Tourism, currently there are more than 7,500 certified tour guides nationwide, of which there are more than 5000 foreign ones, and the rest are domestic ones. In fact, there are still about 500 uncertified tour guides, because of not meeting the conditions of Tourism Laws.
Since the Law on Tourism was implemented, the General Directorate of Tourism issued the directing and guiding document to apply the law, in which it requires the Department of Tourism to stop granting temporary tour guide cards. So, since July 2008, all temporary tour guide certification cards are no longer valid. This means that all tour guides with a temporary card are not allowed to use their card and will be out of work. Any travel agency deliberately employing uncertified tour guides, or those with invalid temporary cards, will be fined, along with the tour guide. In particular, those guiding without a tour guide card or using a false card will be fined VND 5 - 10 million (the old fining level was from VND 2 - 3 million); and a travel agency supporting such acts will be fined from VND 25 – 30 million. According to travel agencies, this has a big impact on their activities. Ms Ngo Thi Lan Phuong, Director of Kim Lien Travel Agency, said that for Thai tour guides, they have to employ overseas Vietnamese, even if the tour guide is a 70 year old man without a card, because there are very few Thai tour guides. Ending temporary tour guide cards has caused many difficulties for travel agencies; they still have to run the business, despite knowing that they are breaching the law.
While numerous travel agencies have serious staff shortages, 400 experienced international tourist guides in Ho Chi Minh City are facing with unemployment due to the regulation that requires them to have a university degree. To solve the difficulties in the current period, therefore, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, particularly the General Directorate for Tourism, should consider some special cases and issue a temporary card for tour guides who could speak “rare” languages (i.e. languages which few staff can speak), said Nguyen Duc Chi, Deputy Head of Travel Division in the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
In addition, priority should be given to those who do not have a card but are experienced enough and fluent in those rare languages. Regulations for granting cards to those with some years of experience should also be established, and some other professional certifications should be admitted. As Nguyen Minh Quyen, Vice Director of Ben Thanh Tourism Department Centre, said that tour guiding is a very special job, and in other European countries, the management of those people is guided by travel agencies. The situation in Vietnam, however, is completely different. That’s why sometimes businesses are disadvantaged during high season for tourists, as tour guides may leave their duty. He added that there is an exceptional need for tourism businesses to be responsible to their guides. At present there is little commitment, and a tour guide can leave his duty even when he has signed a contract with the company.
Luu Duc Ke, Director of Hanoi Travel Agency, said that other professions have professional standards, and this should also be applied in the tourism sector so that tour operators will have a basis for calculating remuneration, as well as encouraging tour guides to do a better job. "It is unfair to treat a guide with 2-3 years of experience the same as someone with several decades of experience,” he added. Currently, companies still pay compensation for tour guides based simply on personal feeling; one receives higher remuneration than another as he seems to be better at work, for example. There is a need for tests to raise the level of tour guides.
Based on the actual operating conditions of the travel business, it is recommended that state tourism management should consider the concerns of businesses, creating favourable conditions for tourism development.
Thu Huyen
Vietnamese
