Analysts doubt the feasibility of the new decision by the Phu Quoc Tour Guide Association about collecting tips because most tourists want inexpensive tours and travel firms are competing with each other by slashing service fees.

Over 15,500 licensed tour guides have been put out of work for more than two years due to the pandemic and many of them have decided to leave the tourism sector permanently to earn a living elsewhere.

Tour guides are subject to the Government’s VND26 trillion support package which aims to help Covid-19-hit businesses and people. However, unclear requirements have may have caused the package to be inaccessible to thousands of tour guides.

In the melting hot summer of 2017, Le Thu Huong drove her motorbike 14km every noon to take her daughter to Bai Dinh Pagoda.

Flying an empty aircraft for the second time in one week, Hoang, a captain working for a Vietnamese airline, has heard that the airline is incurring big losses because of nCoV.

The HCMC Tourism Department has reassured the 19,000 freelance tour guides that they will not have to become members of tourism associations or tour guide associations.

VietNamNet Bridge - Thousands of freelancers are hurrying to join tourism and tour guide associations as the membership will give them opportunities to practice as legal tour guides.

Though they have official practice cards, freelance tour guides will become unemployed if they cannot satisfy new requirements in the 2017 Tourism Law which takes effect on January 1, 2018.

The shops are full of Chinese visitors, but do not receive Vietnamese. Each group of tourists can bring hundreds of millions of dong to the shops, but customs agencies have not been able to track down the money.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Fine arts students and art lovers in the central city of Da Nang are familiar with the work of British graffiti artist Knee Jerk (his preferred alias).

 VietNamNet Bridge – A motorbike ride is the best way to take in the sights and sounds and taste the local cuisine in the less explored parts of Ho Chi Minh City.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Those seeking to immerse themselves in forest life can visit Bach Ma National Park in the heart of Viet Nam, which offers eco-tours designed to showcase the area's biodiversity.

VietNamNet Bridge – Travelers who have visited to the northern province of Ninh Binh should not miss Cuc Phuong National Park, apart from other popular venues such as Bai Dinh Pagoda, Tam Coc – Bich Dong, Trang An eco-tourist site

Many travel firms have protested prevailing regulations requiring tour guides to have a bachelor’s degree, especially at a time they are in dire need of tour guides to serve international guests during this peak season of the inbound segment.

VietNamNet Bridge – Nguyen Ha Lan*, a resident of HCM City, recalls the incident that made her leave her job as a tour guide, a profession that she was once passionate about.