Travel joint ventures allowed to bring tourists abroad

From August 10, 2009 to December 31, 2010, travel joint ventures are allowed to provide outbound tours for Vietnamese citizens and foreigners who are living and working in Vietnam.
Under the current laws, foreign-invested travel firms can only take foreign tourists around Vietnam, while bringing tourists abroad is the ‘playing field’ of domestic travel firms only.
However, Vietnam will allow travel joint ventures to provide outbound tours during a set period, from August 10, 2009 to December 31, 2010. Vu The Binh, Head of the Travel Department under the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT), said that it is now a difficult period for travel firms in the context of the global economic recession, therefore, VNAT has opened the door of the market, allowing travel joint ventures to undertake outbound tourism services.
In Circular No 498, VNAT stipulates that the management agency will have meetings with concerned agencies and travel firms every six months to review the operations of the firms.
Binh said that VNAT will also join forces with relevant agencies to inspect tours to discover and punish travel firms that violate the laws. Travel firms which provide outbound tours have to submit regular reports to VNAT every six months or make unscheduled reports to the agency when instructed.
VNAT has asked travel firms to strictly obey the current laws in providing outbound tours, including the regulations on purchasing insurance policies for tourists, sending tour guides along with delegations of tourists and signing contracts with foreign partners.
If travel firms commit violations in tourist management, VNAT could revoke firms’ right to take tourists abroad.
The decision will be valid until the end of 2010, after which a review of the operations will be carried out. After that, VNAT will send a report and make proposals to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Prime Minister on the next years’ plans.