VietNamNet Bridge – Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has ordered the Ministry of Public Security to set up police patrol teams in urban centres and tourism destinations around the country to protect tourists from robbers and hawkers.

The officers should know foreign languages and be friendly, he said further.

He instructed the ministry to guide local authorities around the country in protecting tourists and cracking down on thieves and robbers.

At each tourist destination attracting one million visitors a year, an assistance centre should be opened with a hotline for tourists to contact, he said.

He ordered the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to hike fines on those found littering at tourist spots and endangering tourists.

The number of foreign tourists coming to Viet Nam has been rising modestly in recent years. In the first half of this year there were 3.5 million foreign visitors, just 2.6 per cent up year-on-year.

The Viet Nam Administration of Tourism said tourists are put off by beggars, hawkers, and robbers at tourism destinations, especially in Ha Noi, HCM City, Sam Son Beach in central Thanh Hoa Province, Ha Long Bay, Vung Tau, and Nha Trang.

Source: VNS