Nghe An: Only 15% of tourist accommodation establishments have registered for ranking.

(Baonghean.vn) -That is the information given by a representative of Nghe An Department of Tourism at the Conference to collect comments on the draft revised Law on Tourism organized by the provincial National Assembly delegation on the afternoon of March 17.

Overview of the conference. Photo: Hoai Thu

The draft revised Law on Tourism has 3 chapters and 83 articles, and is expected to be approved at the 3rd Session of the 14th National Assembly. This time, the consultation focuses on the following areas of regulation: regulations on tourists; tourism resources; tourism development planning; tourist areas, tourist routes, tourist spots and tourist cities; tourism business activities; tourism promotion; international cooperation and integration in tourism and state management of tourism.

At the conference, there were 18 comments on 18/21 issues, focusing on the following contents: Draft structure and layout; scope of adjustment; explanation of terms, principles of tourism development, participation of the community; tourists; tourist destinations; tourism transport business; accommodation facilities; tourism services; state management of tourism...

In which, the representative of the Department of Tourism commented on the contents that need to be adjusted such as the regulation on granting signs for tourist transport vehicles that should be assigned to the Department of Transport; on the regulation on ranking tourist accommodation establishments, if registration is not required, it will cause difficulties for management, because currently only 15% of tourist accommodation establishments have registered for ranking. On the regulation on granting tour guide cards, it is necessary to supplement the curriculum vitae with confirmation from local authorities with a validity of no more than 6 months.

JICA Japan organization trains people in community tourism development in Nua village, Yen Khe commune, Con Cuong. Photo: Hoai Thu

The representative of Nghe An Tourism Joint Stock Company agreed with the opinion of the Department of Tourism on assigning the inspection and control of tourist transport vehicles to the Department of Transport; the development of tourist localities needs to have specific planning, with assessment of the impact and tourism potential of the locality before deciding to implement the project to avoid the situation of everyone doing their own thing, developing spontaneously and ineffectively.

Agreeing with the recommendations in the summary report of the National Assembly delegation, the representative of the provincial Fatherland Front also proposed to add prohibitions in tourism activities such as: prohibiting historical distortion, soliciting, competing for customers, and acts that harm national interests...

Mr. Nguyen Xuan Hong - Deputy Director of the Department of Health said: The growing tourism industry, in addition to its advantages, also brings with it health risks, especially the cross-country travel of tourists, which can easily lead to the spread of dangerous diseases to people. Therefore, it is necessary to add regulations requiring tourists to declare their health when visiting localities.

In addition, delegates also commented on the principle of tourism development, which requires separate provisions on the rights and interests of tourists. Amending and supplementing some words in Article 2, Article 9, Clause 5 on the provisions on prohibited acts in tourism activities. It is necessary to establish a fund to support tourism development. There are measures to limit and prevent the situation of "illegal vehicles" leading tourists and tourist transport vehicles of poor quality.

Thai tourists visit sunflower fields in Nghia Dan district. Photo: Archive

Agreeing with this view, the representative of the Department of Tourism stated: currently, the situation of contracted vehicles transporting tourists does not ensure quality, easily causing dangerous accidents to the life and health of tourists. In addition, services serving tourists such as eating and drinking at restaurants, hotels, entertainment activities such as karaoke, massage and health care services also need to be assessed by health agencies for service quality.

Also at the conference, a representative of Thai Son International Travel Company expressed concern that if the regulation on conditions for recognizing travel companies operating international travel without requiring an international tour guide card is removed, this will lead to a situation where all domestic travel companies will switch to the form of international travel companies, affecting the quality of tourism services and the image of national tourism. It is proposed that there be regulations on sanctions for managing the quality of training facilities and granting tour guide certificates.

Concluding the conference, Mr. Tran Van Mao summarized the comments to submit to relevant agencies and the upcoming National Assembly session.

Hoai Thu