Tourism authorities in Lam Dong Province, located Vietnam’s Central Highlands region, have imposed fines on eight local tour guides who let South Koreans to act as their replacements while taking groups of South Korean travelers to local destinations.

These guides have been fined VND5 million (US$204) each for “failing to guide tourists according to the assigned tasks or the guiding contracts,” as per a government decree on penalties for administrative violations in tourism, the Vietnam News Agency reported on Saturday, citing the provincial Department of Culture, Sports, and Tourism.

The imposition of the penalty resulted from an investigation conducted by the department after local media reported on a violation by domestic tour guides who had recently served groups of South Korean travelers in Da Lat, a renowned tourist city in the province, said Nguyen Thi Bich Ngoc, deputy director of the department.

Tourism inspectors and local police officers reviewed the surveillance footage on pertinent tourist buses and discovered that the eight guides were arbitrarily allowing South Koreans to provide briefings to their fellow countrymen about Da Lat. Moreover, these individuals were offering instructions and recommendations related to their tour.

Inspectors have pointed out that such improper practices could result in situations where foreigners acting as tour guides may provide inaccurate or misleading information about Vietnam and its localities or destinations if they lack the necessary knowledge.

The department clarified that they did not impose penalties on the South Koreans found acting as tour guides.

Instead, they requested these individuals to submit a written commitment expressing their respect for and adherence to Vietnam's regulations regarding tour guides.

All local tourist sites and tour operators must strengthen management and supervise the use of tour guides to ensure they abide by relevant rules, the department said.

The agency also required that tour guides be trained well in foreign language skills to better provide information to international travelers or satisfactorily answer their queries during their visits to the province and Da Lat in particular.

In late December last year, police officers questioned a 35-year-old South Korean man after he was found to be guiding a group of South Korean tourists at Linh Phuoc Pagoda in Da Lat. 

He said he was working for a travel firm in south-central Khanh Hoa Province, and admitted to previously having guided three groups of tourists on trips to Khanh Hoa and Da Lat.

The man, lacking both a permit and an international guide certificate, was found imparting inaccurate information and knowledge about the history of a tourist site in Da Lat to visitors.

Last year, Lam Dong welcomed about 400,000 international visitors, with those from South Korea representing 53.3 percent, the department said.

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