In Vietnam, you can find thousands of tour companies selling and operating tours for international tourists; however, few of them have the correct licenses to run the business legally.

In order to be legitimate, a tour company needs to have an International Tour Operator License which requires the following conditions:

1. The manager needs to be qualified from a university in tourism.
2. The manager needs to have a license to be an international (customers) tour operator.
3. The company needs to contract at least 3 licensed tour guides who work full-time for them.
4. The company needs to put 250,000,000 VND (around $10,000 USD) to a local bank, which is to be frozen until the company declares its business finished. This money provides an additional layer of protection for customers to be compensated in any event.

This license is intended to make sure the company does right by the customers. You should choose to travel with tour companies that have the International Tour Operator License for your safety and wellbeing!