Chapter VI
TOUR GUIDES
Article 58. Tour guides and tour guide cards
1. Tour guides include international tour guides, domestic tour guides and on-site tour guides.
2. Tour guide’s scope of practice:
a) An international tour guide may guide domestic tourists, inbound tourists outbound tourists;
b) A domestic tour guide may guide domestic tourists who are Vietnamese citizens nationwide;
c) An on-site tour guide may guide tourists within a tourism area and tourist attraction;
3. To act as a tour guide, a person shall:
a) have a tour guide card;
b) for the international tour guide and domestic tour guide, sign an employment contract with the travel service provider, tour guiding service provider or member of the socio-professional organization for tourism.
c) sign a contract with a travel service provider or obtain an assignment order; for the on-site tour guide, the assignment given by an operator of the tourism area or tourist attraction is required.
4. The tour guide card includes international tour guide card, domestic tour guide card and on-site tour guide card.
An international tour guide card and domestic tour guide card is valid for 05 years.
5. The fees for assessment and issuance of tour guide cards shall comply with regulations of the law on fees and charges.
Article 59. Conditions for issuance of the tour guide card
1. To obtain the domestic tour guide card, a person shall:
a) have Vietnamese nationality, reside in Vietnam;
b) have full legal capacity;
c) have no contagious diseases and do not use any narcotics;
d) hold an associate degree or higher in tour guiding; in case of an associate degree or higher in another major, a certificate of training in domestic tour guiding is required.
2. To obtain the international tour guide card, a person shall:
a) satisfy the conditions prescribed in Points a, b and c, Clause 1 of this Article;
b) hold a college degree or higher in tour guiding; in case of a college degree or higher in another major, a certificate of training in domestic tour guiding is required;
c) have a good command of the foreign language registered.
3. Conditions for issuance of on-site tour guide cards:
a) Satisfy the conditions prescribed in Points a, b and c, Clause 1 of this Article;
b) Pass the on-site tour guiding examination hold by a tourism authority of the province.
4. The Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism shall elaborate the specimen of the card, training program, organization of examinations and issuance of tour guiding certificates; on-site tour guiding examination; standards in language proficiency.
Article 60. Application and procedures for issuance of the international tour guide card and domestic tour guide card
1. An application for the international tourist guide card and domestic tourist guide card includes:
a) An application form for issuance of the tour guide card according to the form specified by the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism;
b) A curriculum vitae certified by the People’s Committee of the commune where the applicant resides;
c) Certified true copy of qualifications corresponding to the conditions prescribed in Point d, Clause 1 or Point b and Point c, Clause 2, Article 59 of this Law;
d) A health certificate issued by a competent health facility for a maximum period of 06 months from the day on which an application is submitted;
dd) 02 3cm x 4cm color pictures.
2. Procedures for issuance of international tour guide cards and domestic tour guide cards:
a) The person who applies for the tour guide card shall submit 01 application to a tourism authority of the province;
b) Within 15 days from the day on which a valid application is received, the tourism authority of the province shall issue the tour guide card to the applicant; in case of refusal, a written response stating reasons thereof must be given.
Article 61. Application and procedures for issuance of the on-site tour guide card
1. An application for the on-site tour guide card includes:
a) An application form for issuance of the tour guide card according to the form specified by the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism;
b) The documents prescribed in Points b, d and dd, Clause 1, Article 60 of this Law;
2. Procedures for issuance of on-site tour guide card:
a) The tourism authority of the province shall announce the annual plan for organization of on-site tour guiding examinations;
b) The person who applies for the on-site tour guide card shall submit 01 application to a tourism authority of the province;
c) The tourism authority of the province shall hold an on-site tour guiding examination and issue the on-site tour guide card to those who have passed the examination within 10 days from the day on which the examination results are available.
Article 62. Replacement of tour guide card
1. International tour guide and domestic tour guide shall apply for replacement of his/her tour guide card when it expires.
2. An application for replacement of the tour guide card includes:
a) An application form for replacement of the tour guide card according to the form specified by the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism;
b) The documents prescribed in Points b, d and dd, Clause 1, Article 60 of this Law;
c) A certified true copy of the certificate of completion of refresher course for tour guides issued by a competent authority;
d) The issued tour guide card.
3. Procedures for replacement of the tour guide card:
a) The person who applies for replacement of the tour guide card shall submit 01 application to the issuing authority;
b) Within 10 days from the day on which a valid application is received, the issuing authority shall issue a new tour guide card to the applicant; in case of refusal, a written response stating reasons thereof must be given.
4. The Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism shall elaborate the refresher course for international and domestic tour guides and the certificate of completion of refresher course for international and domestic tour guides.
Article 63. Reissuance of the tour guide card
1. The tour guide card shall be reissued in case of loss, damage or revised information. The expiry of the reissued tour guide card is the same as that of the old card.
2. An application for reissuance of the tour guide card includes:
a) An application form for reissuance of the tour guide card according to the form specified by the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism;
b) 02 3cm x 4cm color pictures;
c) Certified true copy of documents related to the revised information in case the card is reissued because information on the tour guide card is revised.
3. Procedures for reissuance of the tour guide card:
a) The person who applies for reissuance of the tour guide card shall submit 01 application to the issuing authority;
b) Within 10 days from the day on which a valid application is received, the issuing authority shall reissue the tour guide card to the applicant; in case of refusal, a written response stating reasons thereof must be given.
Article 64. Revocation of tour guide card
1. The tour guide card shall be revoked if the tour guide commits one of the following acts:
a) Cause harm to national sovereignty and interests, national defense and security;
b) Allow another person to use the tour guide card to practice;
c) Fail to meet the conditions for practice and issuance of tour guide cards as prescribed by this Law;
d) Forge the application for issuance, replacement and reissuance of the tour guide card.
2. The issuing authority shall issue a decision on revocation of tour guide card and publish it on the website of the the General Department of Tourism and the revoking authority.
3. The tour guide whose card is revoked shall only request a competent authority to issue a tour guide card after 12 months from the revocation date.
Article 65. Rights and obligations of tour guides
1. A tour guide has the following rights:
a) Participate in the socio-professional organizations for tour guiding;
b) Receive salary and other remunerations under the contract;
c) Complete refresher courses for tour guides;
d) In case of emergency or force majeure events, the tour guide has the right to adjust tour programs and standards of services provided for tourists.
2. A tour guide has the following obligations:
a) Guide tourists in conformity with the assignment order or the contract;
b) Observe and guide tourists to observe Vietnamese and local laws; local regulations; respect local customs and practices;
c) Provide tourists with information on the tour programs, services and lawful rights and interests of tourists;
d) Guide tourists in conformity with the tour program, be civilized, considerate and wholehearted towards tourists; inform the person in charge of provision of travel services of the change in the tour program at the request of tourists;
dd) Take responsibility for providing assistance in ensuring safety of tourists’ lives, health and property;
e) Complete the refresher course as prescribed in Clause 4, Article 62 of this Law;
g) Wear the tour guide card during the tour;
h) The international and domestic tour guides must bring the assignment order given by the enterprise organizing the tour program, and tour program in Vietnamese during the tour. In case the tour guide guides international tourists, he/she must bring the tour program in Vietnamese and foreign languages.
Article 66. Responsibility for management of tour guides
1. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism shall be responsible for inspecting the issuance of tour guide cards, provision of training in tour guiding and tour guiding activities nationwide.
2. The tourism authority of the province shall be responsible for inspecting the issuance of tour guide cards, provision of training in tour guiding and tour guiding activities within its province.
3. The travel service provider and tour guiding service provider shall:
a) Inspect and supervise tour guides complying with laws and the contract signed with the enterprise;
b) Provide professional training and tour guiding skill courses.
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Luật Du lịch 2017 (Bản Pdf)
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