Establish tourist support centers.

The People's Committees of provinces and cities shall preside over and coordinate with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to establish tourist support centers in accordance with the actual conditions of each locality.

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That was the directive from Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan in the Announcement.221/TB-VPCPThis includes directing the prevention and handling of acts that endanger the safety and lives of tourists, contributing to improving the quality of Vietnam's tourism environment.

Accordingly, the People's Committees of provinces and centrally-administered cities shall preside over and coordinate with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to establish tourist support centers suitable to the actual conditions of each locality, especially in major tourist centers such as Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Khanh Hoa, and Quang Ninh; and consult with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Ministry of Industry and Trade to pilot the construction of tourist markets in localities with developed tourism activities.

Simultaneously, direct relevant units to implement procedures for receiving and processing information when incidents of tourists being harassed occur, especially foreign tourists; educate and encourage street vendors not to overcharge, cheat, pester, or harass tourists; and coordinate immediate verification to track down perpetrators and effectively prevent street vending and encroachment on roads and sidewalks.

The Ministry of Transport, in coordination with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the People's Committees of provinces and centrally-administered cities, will continue to rectify the operations of taxi companies; upgrade the bus system serving residents and tourists; and further strengthen measures to prevent the operation of illegal taxis by installing electronic chips or monitoring them through camera systems, and conduct a review of the service quality of passenger transport vehicles nationwide.

Issuing standard signage for tourist services.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, in coordination with the People's Committees of provinces and centrally-administered cities, will guide and organize the issuance of standard signage for food and beverage and shopping establishments in localities, especially in famous tourist areas and destinations, to meet tourist service standards.

At the same time, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, in coordination with the People's Committees of provinces and cities, will compile and publicly announce a list of tourist service providers that meet standards and are reliable through mass media and tourism promotional publications.

Following the Deputy Prime Minister's directive, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, in coordination with relevant agencies and localities, will clearly define and effectively implement the specific tasks of the Campaign to Improve the Tourism Environment in Vietnam for the period 2013-2015. The basic objective of the campaign must be to aim for tourist satisfaction, in the spirit of "The smile of tourists is the future of Vietnamese tourism".

Research on establishing a Tourist Police force.

The Deputy Prime Minister assigned the Ministry of Public Security to take the lead, in coordination with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Ministry of Interior, in researching and developing a proposal for the establishment of a Tourism Police force, and to report to the Prime Minister in the fourth quarter of 2013; further strengthening criminal task forces to patrol and control tourist routes and destinations, and promptly prevent and handle acts of robbery.

In addition, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is strengthening the organization of inter-agency inspection teams during festivals, holidays, and peak tourist months of the year to check compliance with regulations on civility, food safety and hygiene, and security and safety for tourists at airports, train stations, seaports, and tourist areas with high concentrations of visitors.

Improving the skills of tourism staff.

The Vietnam Tourism Association will preside over and coordinate with local tourism associations and travel businesses to organize training and professional development programs to improve the management skills of local tourism officials; and strengthen the organization of training courses to raise awareness and promote the community capacity of people and businesses in improving the cultural tourism environment in localities.

The Deputy Prime Minister requested the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to take the lead and coordinate with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to provide information to Vietnamese diplomatic agencies abroad to effectively promote tourism and investment.

According to (chinhphu.vn) - HL