Checking travel companies, contracts and refunds before you book
This guide
About this guide and how we check it
Tourist Agent is an independent, English-language guide for travellers choosing and checking a travel agent or tour operator in Vietnam, with short pages on Thailand, Cambodia and Laos. This page explains what we cover, where facts come from, what the dates mean, how advertising is kept apart, and how to correct us.
Contents
Who writes the guide
The pages are written and checked by the Tourist Agent editors, who are named as the author on every page. The editors read the laws, registers and official notices cited on each page, and compare the page with them on the date shown. We do not publish personal names on the pages because the method, not the author, is what a reader needs to rely on.
What the guide covers
Eight subjects: checking a travel licence on the official register; the difference between travel agents, licensed operators and booking platforms; red flags and scams when booking online; what a contract and confirmation should contain; deposits, refunds and card disputes; insurance on tours; licensed guides; and how to complain. The Thailand, Cambodia and Laos pages are shorter and say plainly where we could not verify a register.
The guide is written for travellers. It does not explain how businesses obtain licences, and it is not legal advice. Where a case depends on detail, we say so and point to the official channel.
What we do not do
- We do not sell tours, tickets or insurance, and we do not take bookings.
- We do not name, list, recommend or rate travel companies or guides. Examples describe types of seller.
- We do not publish rankings or lists of companies in any order.
- We do not carry paid placements, sponsored mentions or affiliate links inside the editorial text.
- We do not pass readers' messages or details to any travel company.
Where the facts come from
We use sources in this order of preference:
- The Law on Tourism 2017 and the decrees that apply it, read article by article.
- Official registers: the travel business register and the tour guide database run by the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism, and the National Business Registration Portal.
- Notices and warnings from Vietnamese ministries and the national tourism authority.
- Foreign ministry travel advice, which states its own update date.
- Law firm explainers, academic articles and news reports, labelled as such in the source line, used where the official text is silent or not available to us.
Where an official page could not be opened on the day we checked, we say so and do not fill the gap with a guess. The Thailand and Cambodia and Laos pages are examples. When sources disagree, the page shows both.
What the dates mean
Each page shows when it was published and last reviewed. Each block with a fact that can change, such as a fine, a register count or a complaint channel, has a source line with a date marked "last checked". That is the day an editor read the source and compared it with the page, not the day the site was rebuilt.
A "last checked" date describes our work, not the rule. Decrees are amended, registers grow every week, and agencies are reorganised. Before you rely on a figure, open the source in the line under it.
Advertising
The site may carry advertising to pay for its work. Ad spaces are labelled "Advertisement" and are kept separate from the editorial text, in fixed positions on the page. Advertisers do not see pages before publication, do not choose topics and cannot buy a mention, a link or a change in the text.
An advertisement for a travel company is not a sign that we have checked that company. Run the same checks on an advertiser as on anyone else. Advertising enquiries go through the contact form, marked as such.
What we do badly
- Detail for every nationality. Visa, insurance and consumer rules differ by home country; we cover common cases.
- Real-time changes. A new decree or a reorganised department will not show here until we check or someone tells us.
- Registers we cannot read. Where an official register is not available to us, the page says so.
- Languages other than English. The guide is published in English only.
Corrections
If a page is wrong, out of date or unclear, tell us through the form on the contact page. The most useful reports name the page and the sentence, say what you found instead and when, and include a link to an official source.
Every report is read by an editor. Where a correction is confirmed, we change the page, update its "last reviewed" date and the "last checked" date of the block concerned, and record significant changes in the log below.
Corrections log
First edition published on 26 October 2026. No corrections recorded yet.
Common questions
Questions readers ask
Who is behind Tourist Agent?
The pages are written by the Tourist Agent editors, named as the author on every page. The site does not sell travel services.
Can a company pay to be mentioned?
The guide does not name companies in its text, and there are no paid placements in the editorial pages. Advertising, where shown, is labelled and kept separate.
Why do some pages cite law firms or newspapers?
Where an official text is silent or could not be opened, we use a labelled secondary source so you can weigh it.
How do I report a mistake?
Use the form on the contact page. Say which page, what is wrong, and how you know.
Related
Read next
This guide
Contact
Send the editors a correction, a question about a page, or an advertising enquiry.
Independent guide for travellers
Home
Start here: the checks to run on a travel company in Vietnam, from licence to complaint.
Before you book
Check a licence
Step-by-step check of a travel company on the official VNAT register, with licence number formats and limits.
When something goes wrong
Complaints
The order of complaint channels in Vietnam, what each one handles, and what to put in your complaint.
Before you book
Red flags
The scam patterns official warnings describe, a table of red flags, and what to do if you have already paid.
Start planning
Send a correction or a question
Tell us which page and which line, what you found instead, and when. A link to an official source helps us check it. Tourist Agent does not sell tours, does not take bookings and does not pass your details to any travel company.