The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will remove or simplify half of 118 business conditions in the sectors under its management but it said the deposit requirement for tour operators will stay.

Tourists in the downtown HCMC. 

The ministry reasoned that the requirement that travel companies must place a deposit is lower than in other countries.

Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Ngoc Thien has approved a plan to cut and streamline 62 of 118 conditions for enterprises in the sectors under its management. Providers of karaoke, bar, advertising, sport, lodging and electronic game services can take a sigh of relief as business conditions for them will be slashed.

Meanwhile, conditions for travel firms will remain unchanged. Particularly, people in charge of local tours must be graduates from vocational schools of tourism or have equivalent certificates while college/university graduates majoring in tourism and those having qualifications for international tour operations are eligible to take charge of domestic tours.

Tour operation is a special field as the quality of tourism products depends on people in charge of marketing and providing services, so qualifications of tour guides are important when it comes to protecting customers’ interests.

The requirement that travel firms must deposit money at banks is also needed because this is a guarantee for coping with accidents or emergencies.

Operators of local tours must deposit VND100 million each, those of inbound tours VND250 million and those of outbound tours VND500 million. Those companies placing a VND500 million deposit can arrange tours in these three segments.

The requirements that hotels, yachts and houses for rent must have electricity and clean water systems and that staff of lodging facilities must have knowledge of tourism will also be removed.

The ministry will submit a draft Government decree amending decrees on business conditions to the Government prior to October.

SGT