Do international tour guides have to have an associate degree or higher in a foreign language in Vietnam?

Do international tour guides have to have an associate degree or higher in a foreign language in Vietnam?

Pursuant to Article 13 of Circular 06/2017/TT-BVHTTDL stipulating foreign language proficiency standards to be satisfied by tour guides as follows:

1. The person who has a good command of a foreign language as prescribed in Point c, Clause 2, Article 59 of the Law on Tourism shall satisfy one of the following standards:

a) He/she holds an associate degree or higher in a foreign language;

b) He/she has completed an associate degree or higher training program designed in a foreign language;

c) He/she holds an associate degree or higher issued by a foreign training institution;

d) He/she holds a certificate of foreign language proficiency at least level 4 of Vietnam’s language proficiency framework or at least level B2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages which is still valid or issued within 05 years with respect to the certificate of foreign language provided in the Appendix I hereof.

2. The degree or certificate awarded by a foreign training institution shall be acknowledged as prescribed by the Ministry of Education and Training or Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs;

As such, an international tour guide must have an associate degree or higher in a foreign language or meet the above conditions in accordance with the law on foreign language standards.

Therefore, if you are a domestic tour guide and have an associate degree in English, you can work as an international tour guide in Vietnam.

Who does content of tour guiding training program of international tour guides in Vietnam comprise?

According to the provisions of Article 14 of Circular 06/2017/TT-BVHTTDL, tour guiding training program is as follows:

1. A domestic tour guiding training program includes:

a) Basic professional knowledge: Vietnamese geography, Vietnamese history, Vietnamese culture, Vietnam’s political system and legal documents concerning tourism;

b) Professional knowledge and tour guiding training: introduction to tourism, Vietnam’s tourism areas and tourist attractions, tourist psychology, art of communication in tour guiding, tour guiding skills, healthcare services;

c) Tour guiding skill practice;

d) Tour guiding internship.

2. An international tour guiding training program includes:

a) Basic professional knowledge: Vietnamese geography, Vietnamese history, Vietnamese culture, history of world civilizations, Vietnam’s political system and legal documents concerning tourism;

b) Professional knowledge and tour guiding training: introduction to tourism, Vietnam’s tourism areas and tourist attractions, tourist psychology, international cultural exchange, art of communication in international tour guiding, tour guiding skills, healthcare services, immigration, aviation and accommodation, diplomatic protocol;

c) Tour guiding practice;

d) Tour guiding internship.

According to this Article, international tour guides, when participating in the tour guiding training program in Vietnam, will include the content of knowledge, practice and reality as prescribed above.

Best Regards!