Realizing that an increasing number of international travel service businesses will be established, and to create favorable conditions for companies operating in the Tourism sector, on October 28, 2021, the Government issued Decree 94/2021/ND-CP amending Decree 168/2017/ND-CP, which details several articles of the Law on Tourism regarding changes in the deposit levels for international travel business. With many years of operational experience, LawFirm.Vn is proud to be a leading reputable and capable law firm in the field of applying for International Travel Business Licenses as well as advising on legal procedures arising during the business operations of thousands of travel enterprises across the country. We regularly update legal regulations and related legal procedures to support businesses in the licensing, operation, and travel business processes.
1. Conditions for international travel businesses
1.1. Conditions regarding Operating License
- After being granted a Business Registration Certificate, enterprises wishing to engage in international travel business must apply for an International Travel Business License. Only when granted an International Travel Business License by the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism can an enterprise legally operate an international travel business.
- The International Travel Business License is only granted to enterprises established in accordance with current laws and registered for the business line: Tour operation: International travel business.
1.2. Conditions regarding the enterprise’s business lines when applying for an International Travel Business License
Enterprises applying for an International Travel Business License must have the following business line in their Enterprise Registration Certificate (or business line registration data on the National Business Registration Portal):
- Industry code 7912: Tour operation: Domestic travel business, international travel business.
- If the enterprise does not yet have industry code 7912 in its Business Registration Certificate, this business line must be added before proceeding with the application for an International Travel Business License.
2. Application dossier for international travel business license
- Application form for an International Travel Service Business License;
- Certified copy of the Enterprise Registration Certificate or Investment Registration Certificate issued by a competent state agency;
- Certificate of deposit for travel service business;
- Certified copy of diplomas and certificates of the person in charge of travel service business as regulated;
- Certified copy of the appointment decision or labor contract between the travel service business enterprise and the person in charge of travel service business.
3. Scope of international travel business
Vietnamese-owned companies, when granted an International Travel Business License, are permitted to:
- Operate international travel services for international tourists coming to Vietnam and tourists going abroad.
- International travel service businesses are allowed to operate both international and domestic travel services.
Regarding the scope of tourism business activities according to each license
- If an enterprise is licensed to operate only domestic travel business, it is not permitted to engage in international travel business under any circumstances.
- Foreign-invested enterprises are only allowed to operate international travel services for international tourists coming to Vietnam, unless otherwise provided by international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a member.
4. Conditions for international travel business
– Being an enterprise established in accordance with the law on enterprises;
– Making a deposit for international travel service business at a bank.
– The person in charge of travel service business must have a college degree or higher in a travel-related major. In case of a college degree or higher in another major, they must study and pass an examination to obtain a certificate in international tour operation. Currently, there is no detailed Decree guiding the Law on Tourism. However, according to Circular 06/2017 dated December 15, 2017, of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the following training qualifications are considered travel-related majors:
- Tourism and travel service management;
- Travel management;
- Tour operation;
- Tourism marketing;
- Tourism;
- Travel and tourism;
- Tourism management and business.
- MICE Tourism Management
- Travel agency
- Tour guiding
- Majors, occupations, or specializations containing one of the phrases “tourism,” “travel,” or “tour guiding” taught and awarded diplomas by educational institutions in Vietnam before the effective date of this Circular.
- Majors, occupations, or specializations containing one of the phrases “tourism,” “travel,” or “tour guiding” taught and awarded diplomas by foreign training institutions.
- If the diploma does not show the majors, occupations, or specializations specified in points l and m of this Clause, a transcript or diploma appendix showing the major, occupation, or specialization, including one of the phrases “tourism,” “travel,” or “tour guiding,” must be supplemented.
- If the person in charge of international travel service business has not studied the above-mentioned majors, they must attend international tour operation training and refresher courses, including the following training contents:
- Basic industry knowledge: Vietnamese political system; legal documents related to tourism; tourism overview; tourism marketing; tourist psychology and communication skills; international cultural exchange;
- Specialized knowledge and tour operation skills: overview of travel service businesses; tourism market and tourism products; product design and pricing of tour programs; tourist areas, tourist destinations in Vietnam; tour operation skills; sales and customer care; marketing and communication; international currency and payment in tourism; immigration procedures; domestic and international air transport procedures; application of information technology in enterprise management and development;
- Practical international tour operation skills.
5. Deposit levels for Travel Business License
(Applicable from October 28, 2021, to December 31, 2023)
International travel business deposit levels: According to the provisions of Decree 94/2021/ND-CP, which details the Law on Tourism 2017, the regulations are as follows:
5.1. Deposit levels for international travel services business
- Travel service business for international tourists coming to Vietnam: 50,000,000 (fifty million) VND;
- Travel service business for tourists going abroad: 100,000,000 (one hundred million) VND;
- Travel service business for international tourists coming to Vietnam and tourists going abroad: 100,000,000 (one hundred million) VND.”
5.2. Deposit levels for domestic travel services business
20,000,000 (twenty million) VND.
Enterprises shall make deposits in Vietnamese Dong at commercial banks, cooperative banks, or branches of foreign banks established and operating in Vietnam, and shall earn interest rates as agreed upon between the enterprise and the receiving bank in accordance with the law. The deposit must be maintained throughout the period the enterprise operates travel services.
5.3. Deposit submission and issuance of Deposit Certificate
- When an enterprise requests to deposit money into a bank account, the receiving bank and the enterprise shall enter into a deposit agreement. Based on the deposit agreement, the receiving bank shall freeze the deposit amount submitted by the enterprise.
- The deposit agreement shall include main contents such as: Name, address, legal representative of the enterprise; name, address, legal representative of the bank; reason for depositing; deposit amount; deposit interest rate; payment of deposit interest; use of deposit; withdrawal of deposit; refund of deposit; responsibilities of relevant parties and other agreements in accordance with and not contrary to legal provisions.
- After freezing the deposit amount, the receiving bank shall issue a Certificate of Deposit for Travel Service Business to the enterprise according to Form No. 01 specified in the Appendix to this Decree.
5.4. Management and use of deposits
- In cases where a tourist dies, is involved in an accident, faces risks, or suffers life-threatening harm and needs to be returned to their place of residence or requires emergency treatment, and the enterprise is unable to promptly arrange funds, the enterprise shall send a request for temporary release of the deposit to the authority that issued the travel service business license. Within 48 hours from the receipt of the enterprise’s request, the licensing authority for travel service business shall review and propose that the bank allow the enterprise to withdraw from the deposit account for use or refuse the request.
- Within 30 days from the date the money is withdrawn from the deposit account, the travel service business enterprise is responsible for supplementing the used deposit amount to ensure the deposit level as stipulated in Article 14 of Decree 94/2021. If the enterprise fails to do so, the bank shall send a written notice to the licensing authority for appropriate action in accordance with the law.
- The enterprise shall send a written request to the bank for a refund of the deposit in the following cases:
- There is a written notice from the travel service business licensing authority stating that the enterprise has not been granted a travel service business license or has changed the deposit-receiving bank;
- There is a written document from the travel service business licensing authority regarding the refund of the deposit after the revocation of the travel service business license.
5.5. Agreement on deposit interest rate with the Bank
Regarding the agreement on travel deposit interest rates: As per our current updates, banks receiving deposits from international travel businesses typically apply an annual interest rate agreement for these enterprise deposits. Banks with relatively professional international travel business deposit services include Vietnam Foreign Trade Bank (Vietcombank); Asia Commercial Joint Stock Bank (ACB), An Binh Bank, etc.
5.6. Changes in international travel business deposit levels:
For enterprises that were granted International Travel Business Licenses before October 20, 2021, they must re-deposit, withdraw any excess deposit, and submit new deposit records to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism.
6. Procedures for obtaining an international travel business license
To obtain an International Travel Business License, enterprises shall follow these steps:
Step 1: Prepare the licensing dossier
Enterprises prepare 02 sets of dossiers (01 set to be kept by the enterprise) according to the above-mentioned guiding list with corresponding conditions.
Step 2: Submit the licensing dossier to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism
Enterprises submit 01 set of dossiers to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism;
Step 3: Vietnam National Administration of Tourism grants the license
Within 10 days from the date of receiving a complete and valid dossier, the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism shall appraise and issue an International Travel Service Business License to the enterprise, and notify the provincial-level tourism specialized agency where the enterprise is headquartered; in case of refusal, a written notice must be provided stating the clear reasons.
7. Revocation of International Travel Business License
An enterprise’s travel service business license shall be revoked in the following cases:
- Termination of travel service business activities, dissolution, or bankruptcy;
For cases where an International Travel Business License is revoked, enterprises may only re-apply for an International Travel Business License after 06 months from the effective date of the revocation decision. Specifically:
- Failure to meet one of the stipulated conditions for travel service business;
- Failure to renew the travel service business license as regulated, specifically for enterprises that were granted an International Travel Business License before January 1, 2018, they must complete the procedure to renew their International Travel License by December 31, 2018, at the latest, according to the provisions of the Law on Tourism 2017.
For cases where an International Travel Business License is revoked, enterprises may only re-apply for an International Travel Business License after 12 months from the effective date of the revocation decision. Specifically:
- Harming national sovereignty, interests, defense, and security;
- Abusing tourism activities to illegally transport people from Vietnam abroad or from abroad into Vietnam;
- Allowing other organizations or individuals to use the enterprise’s travel service business license for business operations;
- Failing to fully comply with obligations: implementing measures to ensure the safety of tourists’ lives, health, and property; promptly notifying competent state agencies of accidents or risks resulting in serious damage to tourists’ lives, health, and property;
- Falsifying documents for application, renewal, or re-issuance of a travel service business license.
