Chinese travelers in Vietnam

Thirteen shops serving Chinese tourists have opened in Ha Long City. There are also many sales points in Mong Cai.

The owner of a shop said he could not attract Chinese travelers since the opening.

“We strictly obey the laws and don’t hire Chinese workers, who come to Vietnam with tourism visas. Chinese partners don’t bring Chinese travelers to our shop,” he said.

The man said Chinese shops can evade tax with Chinese workers. Shops are now required to make payments via the owner accounts. However, travelers still can make payments in cash. Transactions are in Ha Long City, Vietnam but money and goods will be received and delivered in China. 

The owners of some other shops who refuse Chinese workers said hundreds of Chinese travelers are working illegally in Bai Chay.
 
“If the illegal workers cannot be cleared, authentic businesses will die,” NDN, director of a travel firm in Ha Long City, said. 

“They not only scramble for jobs of Vietnamese tour guides and workers, but also help develop the ‘zero dong’ tour, a burning problem,” he said.

Lao Dong reported that Quang Ninh-based travel firms no longer operate in the Quang Ninh market serving Chinese travelers coming to Vietnam by land, because they have to follow strict regulations (the local authorities impose a floor price per tour to calculate tax; travel firms must provide package tours). 

Meanwhile, the regulations don’t cover travel firms from other localities. This allows non-local firms to evade tax, lower the tour fees and make a profit.

Some days ago, the community of Chinese-speaking tour guides in Da Nang City lodged a complaint with local authorities, reporting that many Chinese now work illegally in Vietnam. They work as tour guides and interpreters, giving inaccurate information about Vietnamese cultural and historical relics.

The presence of Chinese illegal workers in Da Nang has deprived many Vietnamese tour guides of jobs. 

Tran Chi Cuong, deputy director of the Da Nang City Tourism Department, said the department has discovered 24 foreigners who have provided illegal tour guide services, including 12 Chinese, 1 Taiwanese and 11 South Korean, and imposed a fine of VND245 million.

However, Vietnamese Chinese-speaking tour guides still said the local authorities were indifferent to their complaints, though they have provided convincing proof. 

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