Checking travel companies, contracts and refunds before you book
This guide
Write to the editors
The quickest way to reach the Tourist Agent editors is the form on this page, or email to info@touristagent.com. We read every message and reply by email when a reply is needed.
Contents
What to write to us about
Three kinds of message are welcome. Corrections come first: laws are amended, registers change and agencies are reorganised, and readers are often the first to notice. A useful correction answers four questions:
- Which page, and which sentence or table row?
- What did you find instead?
- When did you find it?
- How do you know: a link to an official page, a document, or what happened to you?
Questions about a page are the second kind. If something is unclear, it probably is for other readers too, and we would rather rewrite a section than answer the same question many times. The third kind is advertising enquiries; choose that subject in the form so the message reaches the right person.
What we cannot help with
- Recommending or vetting a particular travel company. Use the checks on the licence and red flags pages.
- Booking tours, transport or hotels. The guide does not sell or arrange travel.
- Acting for you in a dispute or contacting a company on your behalf. The complaint page lists official channels.
- Emergencies. If you are in difficulty, contact local emergency services and your embassy or consulate.
If you are unsure whether a question fits, send it anyway. A question we cannot answer yet tells us what to research next.
Write to info@touristagent.com. It is the only address the site uses, and it reaches the editors directly. The site has no telephone line.
Please do not send passport scans, card numbers or bank details. We do not need them to check a correction. If a document matters, describe it or send only the part that shows the point, with personal details removed.
Advertising enquiries
If you would like to advertise, choose "Advertising enquiry" in the form and tell us who you are, what you want to promote and which countries your audience is in. Ad spaces on the site are labelled "Advertisement" and sit in fixed positions, apart from the editorial text.
An advertiser cannot buy a mention, a link, a change to a page or a place in the text, and advertising does not mean we have checked the advertiser. Travel companies that advertise are treated in the editorial pages exactly like any other company: they are not named. The editorial policy on the about page sets this out in full, and it applies to every enquiry we accept.
How replies work
When a message needs an answer, we reply by email to the address you give. A correction is checked against a source before the page changes, and you will see the change on the page and in the corrections log on the about page once it is confirmed. That checking can take longer than a reply.
We do not publish your name or your message. If a correction you send is used, the page credits "a reader" unless you ask to be named. The privacy page lists the fields the form collects and what happens to them.
Before you write
Check the "last checked" date under the section you are writing about. If the official source linked there says something different from the page, that is exactly the report we want. If your information is older than the date, the page may already reflect the change.
For questions about a specific company's licence, the official register is faster than we are: search it in English at quanlyluhanh.vn. For a guide's card, the national guide database at huongdanvien.vn shows the card type and expiry date.
Common questions
Questions readers ask
How quickly do you reply?
We reply by email when a message needs an answer. Corrections are checked against a source before the page changes, which can take longer.
Can I phone the editors?
No. The site works by email and through the form only.
Will you check a travel company for me?
No. The licence and red flags pages show how to run the checks yourself on the official register.
Related
Read next
This guide
About
Editorial policy: scope, order of sources, what the dates mean, advertising and corrections.
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.