VietNamNet Bridge – Some 400 travel companies in Vietnam may lose their licenses for outbound tours as they have yet to re-register their business operations as regulated in Government Decree 180/ND-CP.

An employee of a local travel firm introduces tours to a foreign guest at a tourism festival in HCMC. Some 400 travel firms may lose their licenses for outbound tours due to late re-registrations

The decree dated November 14, 2013 forces firms in the sector to re-apply for outbound travel services licenses within 12 months after the decree took effect, or no later than January 1 this year.

Many firms missed the deadline and the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) extended the deadline to February 10. However, some 400 out of 1,500 tour operators have not completed re-registrations, meaning they have been operating illegally since February 10.

Most of those companies are located in HCMC and Hanoi.

According to the Travel Department at VNAT, the agency wrote to those missing the deadline warning of the possibility of their losing licenses or being fined. And they can only apply for new licenses one year after that.  

Travel firms said if they re-register outbound services, they must deposit VND500 million for outbound tours only while the old regulations required a VND250 million (US$11,500) deposit for both inbound and outbound tours.

Most of the operations travel firms sell outbound tours so they must deposit an additional VND250 million to continue outbound services. This is why local travel firms have hesitated to re-register.