Conditions to Open a Domestic Travel Company: Can a Tour Guide Graduate Do It?

What is travel business?

Clause 9, Article 3 of the Law on Tourism 2017 provides as follows:

“Travel business is the building, sale and organization of implementation of part or all of a tour program for tourists.”

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What is domestic travel business?

Currently the Law on Tourism 2017 has no definition of domestic travel business. However, Clause 2, Article 10 of the Law on Tourism 2017 on domestic tourists provides as follows:

“Domestic tourists are Vietnamese citizens and foreigners residing in Vietnam traveling within the territory of Vietnam.”

From this, domestic travel business can be understood as the building, sale and organization of implementation of part or all of a tour program for Vietnamese citizens and foreigners residing in Vietnam traveling within the territory of Vietnam

What conditions are required for domestic travel business?

Clause 1, Article 31 of the Law on Tourism 2017 on conditions for domestic travel business provides as follows:

– Being an enterprise established under the law on enterprises;

– Making a deposit for domestic travel business at a bank;

– The person in charge of travel business must have graduated from intermediate level or higher in a travel major; where graduating from intermediate level or higher in another major, must have a domestic tourism operation professional certificate (This point is guided by Clause 2, Article 3 of Circular 06/2017/TT-BVHTTDL).

In addition, the current deposit level for domestic travel business is 20 million dong, reduced by 80 million dong from before (Clause 1, Article 14 of Decree 168/2017/ND-CP as amended and supplemented by Article 1 of Decree 94/2021/ND-CP).

Can a tour guide graduate open a domestic travel business company?

The person in charge of travel business as prescribed in Clause 1, Article 3 of Circular 06/2017/TT-BVHTTDL is a person holding one of the following titles: chairman of the board of directors; chairman of the members’ council; chairman of the company; owner of a private enterprise; general director; director or deputy director; head of the travel business department.

And under Clause 2, Article 3 of Circular 06/2017/TT-BVHTTDL as amended and supplemented by Clause 1, Article 1 of Circular 13/2019/TT-BVHTTDL, travel majors include:

“a) Tourism and travel service administration;

b) Travel administration;

c) Tour operation;

d) Tourism marketing;

dd) Tourism;

e) Tourism travel;

g) Tourism management and business;

h) MICE tourism administration;

i) Travel agency;

k) Tour guiding;

l) Majors showing one of the phrases ‘du lich’, ‘lu hanh’, ‘huong dan du lich’ trained by an educational institution in Vietnam issuing a graduation diploma before the effective date of this Circular;

m) Majors showing one of the phrases ‘du lich’, ‘lu hanh’, ‘huong dan du lich’ trained by a foreign educational institution issuing a graduation diploma.

Where the graduation diploma does not show the majors prescribed at Points l and m of this Clause, supplement the graduation transcript or diploma appendix showing the major, including one of the phrases ‘du lich’, ‘lu hanh’, ‘huong dan du lich’.”

Therefore, you, having graduated from university in tour guiding, fully qualify to contribute capital to open a domestic travel business company if you hold one of the titles prescribed in Clause 1, Article 3 of Circular 06/2017/TT-BVHTTDL.

What is the procedure for granting a Domestic Travel Business License?

Under Clause 1, Article 32 of the Law on Tourism 2017, the dossier for domestic travel business includes:

Application for issuance of a Domestic Travel Business License using the form prescribed by the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism (Form 04, Appendix 2 issued with Circular 06/2017/TT-BVHTTDL)

Certified copy of the Enterprise Registration Certificate;

Certificate of deposit for travel business;

Certified copy of the appointment decision or labor contract between the travel business enterprise and the person in charge of travel business;

Certified copy of the diploma or certificate of the person in charge of travel business prescribed at Point c, Clause 1, Article 31 of this Law.

Procedures

Step 1: The enterprise applying for a Domestic Travel Business License submits 01 dossier set to the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of the province where the enterprise is headquartered;

Step 2: Within 10 days from receipt of a valid dossier, the provincial tourism specialized agency appraises and grants the Domestic Travel Business License to the enterprise; in case of refusal, it must notify in writing and clearly state the reasons.

The fee for new issuance of a domestic travel business license is prescribed in Clause 1, Article 4 of Circular 33/2018/TT-BTC at 3 million dong; however, currently the tourism industry is heavily affected by the Covid pandemic, so from 01/01/2022 to 30/06/2022 the domestic travel business license issuance fee is reduced by 50% to only 1.5 million dong (Article 1 of Circular 120/2021/TT-BTC).

After this date, the fee collection level will return to that prescribed in Circular 33.

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