In order to head towards developing Da Nang into a friendly, civilised and attractive destination, the municipal Department of Tourism has issued a code of conduct applicable to tourist guides.

Holiday- makers are seen going shopping at the downtown tourists-packed Han Market

The code sets out the criteria to build the professional ethics, standards of conduct, civilised behaviour, and awareness of promoting the city’s tourism image amongst tour guides operating in the city.

Besides, tour guides must encourage visitors to the city to comply with Vietnamese laws and all regulations set by tourist attractions, and also, have high respect for local customs and habits.

Last, but not least, tour guides should not entice their colleagues to perform violations of the national tourism law, and go against moral rules and standards of conduct.

Mr Tran Tra, the Chairman of municipal Tour Guides’ Club, said his unit has currently introduced the code of conduct to 1,862 members, and most of them have made commitments to implementing this highly pratical set of rules.

In a similar vein, Ms Dinh Thi Mai, the Chairwoman of the city’s South Korean Speaking Tour Guides’ Club, said, a total of 160 members have grasped an insight into the key content of the code through the use of social networks.

Mr Nguyen Xuan Binh, the Deputy Director of the municipal Department of Tourism, said, a Quick Response (QR) code for this set of rules applicable to tour guides and other regulations related to guiding activities will be deployed in the coming time.

In particular, this code of conduct will be added to the training programmes for students whose majors involve tour guiding at tertiary and training establishments.

Mr Binh remarked, the building of civilised behaviour in tourism activities is an important and necessary factor to further the tourism development in a sustainable manner in a great effort to secure Da Nang’s firm stature as a safe, friendly and attractive destination, thereby leaving a good impression on visitors from both home and aboard.

During the first half of this year, apart from the introduction of the code of conduct mentioned above, the municipal Department of Tourism has publicised the Tourism Law 2017 for tour guides throughout the city.

Also, the Department has recently proposed the Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism to carefully manage the issuance of tour guide cards and the guiding activities across the city. 

During the review period, 83.5 million VND in fines was imposed on 23 violation cases of tour guiding regulations. Also, some tour guides who donot have either membership card or guiding contract were detected and handled in a quick fashion.