Up to one quarter of around 1,660 tour guides in HCMC have not been issued practicing cards, which means they cannot legally exercise their profession at a time when the city is facing a critical manpower shortage for the hospitality industry.

Nguyen Duc Chi, deputy head of the Travel Division of the tourism department, told the Daily that so far, the division has issued the new card to some 1,250 people only.

Up to 25% of local tour guides in the city serving foreign tourists are doing their job without certificates issued by the city’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the official said.

Hundreds of tour guides cannot obtain the new cards because they fail to meet higher education standard as provided for in the Tourism Law, which requires that a guide for international guests must have a university degree.

Chi said that the department is conducting a two-month inspection into travel companies’ operation, and tour guides without the card would face troubles.

The law regulates that tour guides must have a bachelor degree but many experienced guides are not university graduates, especially those speaking such foreign languages as German, Italian, Japanese, Chinese, Russian and Korean. The department has several times asked the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism to lower the requirements but the proposal has been rejected.

Some travel firms in HCMC told the Daily that their tour guides have been fined in some cities such as Danang, Hue city due to the issue.

“We need to use the guides because the city is lacking tour guides for international tourists,” the director of an international travel company said.

The HCMC Travel Society has requested the department to issue new cards to old and experienced tour guides who are guaranteed by international travel companies as eligible.

Source: SGT