VietNamNet Bridge - The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) has said to take action against illegal operations of Chinese travel firms and tour guides in Vietnam.

A Chinese tour guide with a group of Chinese tourists at Cau Da wharf in Nha Trang City, Khanh Hoa Province.

Ngo Hoai Chung, VNAT Deputy General Director, said VNAT would work with the local police and authorities of Da Nang to check information on illegal Chinese tour guides in the city after some newspapers reported that illegal Chinese tours provided inaccurate information about Vietnam history to Chinese tourists and burned Vietnamese banknotes.

Chung said Vietnamese travel firms with connections to illegal Chinese tours will be heavily fined.

He confirmed that any foreign tour guide working in the territory of Vietnam is illegal. If they are detected, they will be fined and expelled from Vietnam.

Chung also said that once collecting sufficient evidence, the VNAT will send it to its Chinese counterpart to ask for punishment against the related Chinese firms and individuals.

Tran Chi Cuong, Deputy Director of the Da Nang Tourism Department, said after the local media had reported illegal operation of Chinese tour guides in Vietnam, some of them left Vietnam.

Cuong noted that some Vietnamese helped these Chinese hide from the authorities. “At some tourist sites, Vietnamese staff alerted Chinese tour guides once they saw tourism inspectors,” Cuong said.

“The use of yuan of Chinese tourists in Da Nang is another problem,” Cuong added.

He said that in the most recent case, some Chinese tourists went to TV Club in Hai Chau district, Da Nang, and they only accepted to pay by yuan. One even burned Vietnamese money at the bar.

As this group of tourists left Vietnam, Da Nang authorities are considering the responsibility of the travel firm that offered services to these tourists.

The situation is similar in Nha Trang City, another tourist center of Vietnam, in Khanh Hoa province.

Nguyen Van Tuong, a member of the Nha Trang-Khanh Hoa Tourism Association, said the association had repeatedly warned its members about the illegal operation of Chinese people in Khanh Hoa. But for immediate profits, many local businesses and individuals have quietly lent a hand to the Chinese and become hired employees for Chinese.

Tuong said it is the responsibility of the authorities for the operation of illegal Chinese tour guides in the city.

“Currently Khanh Hoa has only 11 tour guides speaking Chinese, while the city welcomes nearly 200,000 Chinese visitors so far this year. Why do the authorities admit such a large number of Chinese tourists while we do not have enough tour guides,” Tuong said.

He said the Nha Trang - Khanh Hoa Tourism Association has also discovered several Chinese tour guides who distorted Vietnam history and culture.

“This is very dangerous because many Chinese people will misunderstand about Vietnam and Vietnamese people. Obviously we have not prepared to cope with this problem,” Tuong said.

Pha Le