Checking travel companies, contracts and refunds before you book
Before you book
Agent, operator or platform: who you are really buying from
The person who sells you a tour may not be the company that runs it. Vietnamese law draws a clear line between a licensed travel business and a travel agent, and the line decides whose name belongs on your contract.
Contents
Three kinds of seller
| Seller | What it is under Vietnamese law | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Licensed travel business | A company with a domestic or international travel licence that builds, sells and runs tour programmes | Licence on the official register; scope fits your tour |
| Travel agent | An organisation or individual that sells a licensed company's programmes for commission. Needs business registration and a written agency contract, not a travel licence | Name of the licensed company behind the tour; that company's licence |
| Overseas agency or platform | Outside the Vietnamese licence system; its own country's rules and its terms decide your rights against it | Which local company delivers the tour; whether you have a contract with it |
Sources: Law on Tourism 2017, Article 30 — scope of travel licences; Law on Tourism 2017, Article 40 — travel agents; Law on Tourism 2017, Article 41 — agency contracts · last checked .
Who your contract is with
Article 40 of the Law on Tourism is short and useful. When you buy a programme through a travel agent, the travel contract is concluded directly between you and the licensed company that gave the agent the programme. The contract must also show the name and address of the agent.
In practice that means three things. First, ask the agent which licensed company is behind the tour, and check that company on the register. Second, read the contract for the operator's name; a contract issued only in the agent's name leaves you unsure whom to claim against. Third, keep the agent's details as well, because the agency contract between them sets the price and commission and defines who handles what.
The agency contract itself must be written and must state both parties, the programme and selling price given to the agent, the commission and when it is paid, the rights and duties of each side, and its term. You will not see it, but its existence is what makes the agent legitimate.
Sources: Law on Tourism 2017, Article 40 — travel agents; Law on Tourism 2017, Article 41 — agency contracts · last checked .
Which licence fits which tour
The law separates the two licences by who the traveller is. A domestic licence covers services for domestic tourists. An international licence covers visitors arriving in Vietnam from abroad and Vietnamese travelling out, and its holder may also sell domestic travel. A company with foreign investment can hold an international licence for inbound visitors only, unless an international treaty says otherwise.
If you are visiting from abroad and buying a multi-day programme, the company named on the contract should hold an international licence. The register shows the scope next to each licence: inbound, outbound, or both.
Sources: Law on Tourism 2017, Article 30 — scope of travel licences; VNAT register — international travel businesses · last checked .
Duties of the licensed company that matter to you
- Insurance. It must buy insurance for tourists for the duration of the programme, unless the tourist already has insurance covering the whole programme.
- Guides. It is responsible for the activities of the tour guide while the guide is working for you under the contract.
- Entry formalities. A company serving inbound visitors must help them with entry, exit, transit and customs procedures.
- Changes of manager. It must notify the licensing authority within 15 days when the person in charge of the travel business changes.
Penalties back these duties. Under Decree 45/2019/ND-CP on administrative penalties in tourism, an organisation that does travel business without a licence faces a fine of 90 to 100 million dong, and one that fails to buy insurance for tourists faces 40 to 50 million dong. Fines can be revised by later decrees; check the current text if a figure matters to your case.
Sources: Law on Tourism 2017, Article 37 — duties of travel businesses; Decree 45/2019/ND-CP on administrative penalties in tourism (full text) · last checked .
Booking through an overseas website
Many travellers book Vietnamese tours through platforms or agencies in their own country. The platform is not licensed in Vietnam; a Vietnamese company runs the tour on the ground. Your refund and complaint rights against the platform come from its terms and the law where it operates.
Some home-country rules are stronger than the contract. The UK Foreign Office notes that UK travel companies selling package holidays must follow the Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018, which require a refund if there is a significant change at the destination after booking. Those rules apply to the seller in the UK, not to a Vietnamese company you book directly.
Before booking, ask the platform for the name of the local operator and look it up on the Vietnamese register. If you have a problem during the tour, tell both: the local operator can fix it on the spot, and the platform is the party you paid.
Sources: UK Foreign Office — about travel advice: changing or cancelling plans · last checked .
Hotels, drivers and freelance guides
A hotel desk or a driver can legitimately sell a licensed company's tour as an agent. What is not legal is a licensed company sending a guide without a card. Decree 45/2019 fines a business that uses a person without a guide card 50 to 60 million dong and allows its licence to be suspended for 6 to 12 months. A person who guides without a card faces 15 to 20 million dong.
The UK Foreign Office reports that illegal tour guides have offered tours and activities that local regulations prohibit. If an offer comes from someone who cannot name a licensed company, or the activity sounds like something a licensed company would not run, treat both as warnings.
Sources: Decree 45/2019/ND-CP on administrative penalties in tourism (full text); Bao Van Hoa — Decree 45/2019 and the use of unlicensed guides; UK Foreign Office — Vietnam safety and security · last checked .
Common questions
Questions readers ask
Is it safer to book with the operator directly than through an agent?
Not necessarily. The contract is with the licensed operator either way. What matters is that you know the operator's name, have checked its licence and hold a contract that names both parties.
Do agents in Vietnam need a travel licence?
No. A travel agent needs business registration and a written agency contract with a licensed company. The licence belongs to the company whose programme the agent sells.
My tour was booked through a website abroad. Who do I complain to?
Start with the platform you paid, under its terms, and tell the local operator about the problem on the day. If the local operator broke Vietnamese rules, the provincial tourism department where it happened is the official channel.
Can a foreign-owned company run my tour in Vietnam?
Yes, for inbound visitors. A company with foreign investment can hold an international licence limited to serving visitors arriving in Vietnam.
Related
Read next
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.
Paperwork
Contract and confirmation
The five items the Law on Tourism requires in a travel contract, plus what a good confirmation adds.
Before you book
Tour guides
Three types of guide card, the conditions for each, how to check one in the national database, and the fines.
Choosing a tour
Private or group
Private tours and set-departure groups compared fairly, with the questions that reveal what you are buying.
Money
Refunds
How deposits, cancellation charges, refunds and card disputes work, and what is realistic in each case.
When something goes wrong
Complaints
The order of complaint channels in Vietnam, what each one handles, and what to put in your complaint.
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.