Illegal tours hit authentic tourism services in Khanh Hoa

Major tour companies are scaling back operations in Khanh Hoa Province’s Nha Trang City as the number of Russian tourists coming to Vietnam dwindles and small, unlicensed operators, undercut the market.
Anex Vietnam, one of two travel firms dealing directly with Russian tourists to Khanh Hoa, said it was halting flights from Russia from May 20.
Nguyen Ngoc Luong, the marketing manager of Anex, said the company had since last November been handling an average of 12,000 Russian tourists a month, generating tourism revenue of VND300bn a month for the province.
Due to the weak rouble since the beginning of this year, Anex has had to cut tour prices, but could not compete with unlicensed operators taking its business.
“We lose about USD720,000 a month,” Luong said.
A number of Russians were openly offering cheap tours in Nha Trang City at up to half the price of the majors, setting up currency exchanges points and touting for clients. They do not pay tax, and have no insurance.
Russians were also acting as tour guides around the Ponagar Tower, though such work is banned for foreigners in Vietnam.
Hoang Thi Phong Thu, chairwoman of Anh Duong-Pegas, another Russia-linked company, said, “We’re struggling to compete with illegal tour operators. Many of them offer tours at USD20 a person"
Luong said Anex would be sacking 160 of its 170 staff because of the collapse in the Russian market, and faced compensation bills of billions of VND for broken contracts with transport firms.
There are 241 registered tour companies in Khanh Hoa Province, but many more operate without a license.
Phan Thanh Truc, the deputy director of the provincial Department of Culture, Sport and Tourism, said 49 tour operators had been inspected in Nha Trang City and 21 were found to be operating illegally. They were fined a combined VND135m and six people were expelled from Vietnam.