Advertisements in Chinese and Russian erased from Vietnam resort town

Advertising panels featuring phrases in foreign languages are being removed by local authorities from the popular Nha Trang resort town on Vietnam's south central coast.

Tourism inspectors from Khanh Hoa Province instructed several businesses in Nha Trang to remove the offending panels featuring phrases in foreign languages such as Chinese and Russian on Wednesday.

“I don’t know what the law says about advertising panels. I just do what people usually do around here,” said Vu Dinh Bay, the owner of a local handicraft shop.

Inspector Pham Duc Hung cited the increasing number of foreign tourists visiting Nha Trang as the reason for the problem.

“We have reminded businesses not do this again. If they don't comply, we'll follow it up,” he said.

Earlier this month, Vietnam’s tourism ministry instructed authorities to inspect the proliferation of foreign-language advertisements in Nha Trang.

According to Vietnam’s Law on Advertising, all advertisements must include Vietnamese. Exceptions can only be made for foreign brands when the content cannot be translated to an equivalent term in Vietnamese, or advertisements for licensed foreign brands.

Nha Trang is one of the most popular destinations in Vietnam and the main attraction of Khanh Hoa. Foreign tourists to the province increase nearly 70 percent from the previous year to more than two million in 2017, and 75 percent of them came from China and Russia.