Checking travel companies, contracts and refunds before you book
Paperwork
What your contract and confirmation should say
Vietnamese law requires a travel contract to be in writing and lists five things it must contain. A confirmation email that leaves them out is not the contract the law has in mind, and the gaps are where disputes start.
Contents
What the law requires
Article 39 of the Law on Tourism defines a travel contract as an agreement on carrying out a tour programme between a licensed travel business and a tourist, the tourist's representative, or another business. It must be made in writing, and it must contain the following.
| Required by Article 39 | What to look for in your contract |
|---|---|
| A clear description of the quantity, quality, price, timing and manner of the services in the programme | Named hotels, not only star ratings; room type; meals by day; vehicle type; guide language; boat cabin type; which entrance fees are included |
| The contract value and the payment method | Total price, currency, deposit, balance date, the account or card route, and who pays bank charges |
| A clause excluding liability in case of force majeure | What counts as force majeure, and what happens to your money when it applies: refund, credit or new dates |
| Conditions and financial responsibility for changing, adding to or cancelling the contract | A cancellation table by days before departure, for both sides; how changes are priced |
| Terms on insurance for the tourist | The insurer, the policy, the period and what is covered |
Decree 45/2019/ND-CP fines an organisation 20 to 30 million dong for not making a written contract with tourists, and 1 to 3 million dong for a contract that lacks required content.
Sources: Law on Tourism 2017, Article 39 — travel contracts; Decree 45/2019/ND-CP on administrative penalties in tourism (full text) · last checked .
The confirmation is not the whole contract
Many companies send a booking confirmation by email and treat it as the contract. That can work if it contains the Article 39 items or refers clearly to terms you have received. Check that the confirmation, or the document attached to it, includes:
- The company's legal name and travel licence number, matching the register.
- If you booked through an agent, the agent's name and address. Article 40 requires them on the contract.
- A booking reference, travellers' names as on passports, and dates.
- A day-by-day programme with the services described above.
- The total price, what has been paid, what is still due and when.
- The cancellation table and the force majeure clause.
- The insurance details, or a statement that you are relying on your own policy.
- A way to reach the company during the tour, by email or through the guide.
Sources: Law on Tourism 2017, Article 39 — travel contracts; Law on Tourism 2017, Article 40 — travel agents · last checked .
Inclusions and exclusions
Two quotes that differ by a large amount often describe different trips in the same words. The exclusions list is where the difference hides. Ask for each of these to be stated as included or excluded:
- International and domestic flights, and airport transfers on both ends.
- Visa fees and any letters needed for them.
- Entrance tickets, national park fees, boat fees and cave tickets.
- Meals not listed by day, drinks, and meals on travel days.
- Tips for guides, drivers and boat crews.
- Single room supplements and surcharges for holiday periods.
- Your own travel insurance, which the operator's insurance does not replace.
Ask also whether shopping stops are part of the programme. A stop you did not ask for, at a shop that pays the company commission, is a common way a lower price is recovered.
Cancellation terms
The law does not set a single cancellation scale; it requires the contract to state the conditions and the financial responsibility for cancelling or changing. That makes the table in your contract the rule that applies, so read it before you pay the deposit.
A fair table shows the charge for each period before departure and is the same in both directions: what you lose if you cancel, and what the company owes if it cancels. Ask for non-refundable supplier costs, such as domestic flights or some cruise cabins, to be listed by item so you can see what is lost and why. A clause that keeps the whole payment at any date is a reason to negotiate or walk away.
Force majeure
The force majeure clause is required, but the law leaves its content to the parties. An academic article on travel contracts in Vietnam notes that the Civil Code defines force majeure in general terms, which invites disputes, and that companies can use the exclusion clause to avoid responsibility. The same article gives the example of flight delays that strand travellers and argues that companies should still help with accommodation and transport.
Ask three questions about your clause. Which events count, for example typhoons, port closures and flight cancellations? What happens to your money: refund, credit or new dates? Who pays for an extra night if the trip cannot continue? The answers belong in writing.
During the tour, the Law on Tourism lets a guide change the programme in an emergency or in force majeure. That is a right to keep you safe, not a right to swap paid services for cheaper ones.
Sources: Tap chi Cong Thuong — protecting customers in travel contracts (academic article); Law on Tourism 2017, Article 65 — rights and duties of guides · last checked .
Changes after booking
Any change to dates, travellers, rooms or programme should be confirmed in writing with the new price. A message in a chat app is better than nothing, but an updated confirmation from the company's email is better still. If the company changes something material, such as the hotel, the boat or the guide language, you should be told before the day and be able to accept or cancel under the contract.
Common questions
Questions readers ask
Does a travel contract in Vietnam have to be on paper?
It has to be in writing. An email or a signed document that contains the required items meets that purpose; a phone call or a chat message on its own does not.
The company only sent an itinerary and a price. Is that a contract?
It covers part of what the law requires. Ask for the payment terms, cancellation table, force majeure clause and insurance details in writing before you pay.
Who decides what counts as force majeure?
The contract, read with the Civil Code. Because the general definition is broad, ask for the events and the consequences to be spelled out in your contract.
Can a guide change the itinerary on the day?
In an emergency or force majeure, yes. Otherwise the programme in the contract is what you paid for, and changes should be agreed with you.
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