Authorities in Thua Thien – Hue Province discovered and fined several foreigners for illegally acting as tour guides in Hue City over the last two months.
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| Travel firms hire unqualified foreign tour guides |
Most of them were from South Korea, and lacked certification for being international tourist guides, which are granted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
The tour guides were hired by travel firms with headquarters in Hanoi and HCM City and branches in Danang.
The department’s inspection agency said illegal foreign tour guides operating in prominent tourist areas are causing chaos in the tourism market and hindering local authorities from ensuring quality travel services.
Nguyen Van Thang, the department’s chief inspector, said more and more travel firms prefer hiring South Korean people as tour guides in Hue.
He worried whether or not these “guides” have full understanding about Vietnamese culture and tradition, a lack of which could lead to cultural misunderstandings.
