Foreigners voluntarily work as tour guides in Phu Quoc

Some travel agencies in Phu Quoc have "accused" the recent rise in illegal foreign tour guides, which threatens to affect the image of local tourism.

On the afternoon of February 27, a representative of the Kien Giang Province Department of Tourism Inspectorate said that they had received reports of foreigners working as tour guides and welcoming guests. On February 20, the inspection team visited popular tourist attractions such as Hon Thom cable car, Hoang Hon town, Grandworld area, Phu Quoc International Airport; working with four domestic tour guides and two Koreans - suspected of working as tour guides illegally.

Currently, the unit is continuing to verify and clarify the situation of foreigners acting as tour guides and welcoming guests, and said that this has happened before.

A tour guide in Phu Quoc said that last year he had encountered about 4-5 cases of foreigners acting as tour guides for small groups. Most of the cases he encountered were from "rare" groups such as Koreans and Russians, and there were few professional tour guides in Phu Quoc.

Mr. Truong Cong Tam, Chairman of Phu Quoc Professional Tour Guide Association, also said that there have been many reports of foreigners not signing labor contracts with travel agencies in Vietnam, but working as tour guides for Russian and Korean tourist groups arriving on charter flights.

Mr. Tam said that the situation of foreigners acting as tour guides to welcome guests has been going on for nearly a year but has not caused any serious problems. However, professional tour guides in Vietnam will lose their jobs if this situation continues.

According to Decree 45/2019/ND-CP on administrative sanctions in the tourism sector, foreigners are not allowed to work as tour guides without a labor contract with a travel agency or a business providing tour guide services. In addition, they must also be members of a relevant professional organization.

"Vietnam now has no shortage of Korean or Russian speaking tour guides to serve tourists," said Mr. Tam. This unit hopes that the authorities will soon handle the above situation in Phu Quoc because in the long term it can cause many serious consequences to the image of national tourism.

In 2024, international visitors to Phu Quoc will reach more than 960,000, an increase of about 73% over the same period. According to many tourism businesses in Phu Quoc, international visitors to the island are increasing, especially from Korea and Taiwan. During the Lunar New Year, many people working in tourism in the city commented that "everywhere you go, you see foreigners", showing the great attraction of Phu Quoc

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