8 Vietnamese tour guides were fined for acting as 'fronts' for Koreans in Da Lat

On January 14, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Lam Dong announced that it had just issued 8 decisions to administratively fine 8 Vietnamese tour guides 5 million VND each for violating the following acts: "Not guiding tourists according to assigned tasks or according to the tour guide contract", stipulated in Point a, Clause 5, Article 9 of Decree No. 45/2019/ND-CP dated May 21, 2019 of the Government regulating administrative sanctions in the tourism sector.

Xử phạt 8 HDV người Việt không làm nhiệm vụ với du khách Hàn Quốc - Ảnh 1. — Korean tourists visit Da Lat train station

Specifically, after Thanh Nien and some other press agencies reported that Korean tour guides were arbitrarily explaining Vietnamese culture and history while guiding Korean tourist groups to visit famous landscapes in Da Lat City.

Therefore, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism coordinated with Lam Dong Police to conduct field inspections at the above locations and found that the tourist groups at the areas and spots were all led by Vietnamese tour guides. However, when checking the surveillance cameras on the vehicles, there were 8 suspicious cases of Vietnamese tour guides letting Koreans perform tour guide duties while the vehicles were moving.

All units organizing tourism programs for Korean tourists to visit Da Lat are businesses from Khanh Hoa province.

Through inspection, it was discovered that the main violations were by tour guides who did not guide tourists according to assigned tasks or according to the tour guide contract.

Xử phạt 8 HDV người Việt không làm nhiệm vụ với du khách Hàn Quốc - Ảnh 2. — Lam Dong provincial authorities work with Korean tour guides

According to the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Lam Dong, regarding the guiding activities performed by Koreans in the programs of tourist groups, members of the inspection team worked with the working group and required the "illegal" Korean tour guides to write a commitment to fully and seriously comply with the regulations of Vietnamese law on tour guides and not to take administrative action.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Bich Ngoc, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Lam Dong, added that the Department has requested travel service businesses and tour guide service providers to only use tour guides who meet the conditions for practice as prescribed in Clause 3, Article 58 of the Law on Tourism; and to be responsible for the tour guide's activities during the time of guiding tourists according to the contract.