Eight kinds of tourist accommodation are allowed in Vietnam, including hotels, villages, villas, apartments, camping areas, boarding-houses, houses (with rooms for rent), and other facilities (ships, trains and tents).

Tourist accommodation providers are required to register their business activities within three months after starting their operation.

Especially, foreign investors are free to get involved in travel agencies. Foreign-invested enterprises are permitted to host international visitors in Vietnam. However, they are obliged to employ only permanent Vietnamese resident as tour guides.

Within 15 days after launching their services, they have to submit to the National Administration of Tourism an investment certificate (copy), business plan and tour programs for international clients, documents clarifying the operator’s length of service, operation cards and labor contracts (copy) of at least three tour guides, and a certification of international travel fund.

In addition, the new regulations require international tour guides to be regularly updated with the national orientations of socio-economic development, tourist information, new tourist products and foreign languages.

In 2008 alone, new 83 international travel enterprises were licensed and six 5-star hotels built in Vietnam. So far, there are 688 travel companies and 10,400 accommodation providers operating in tourist sector.

VietNamNet/CP