Foreigners found working illegally as tour guides on Phu Quoc Island

On Feb. 20 an inspection team from the Kien Giang Province Department of Tourism conducted checks at popular tourist attractions, including the Hon Thom cable car, Hoang Hon (Sunset) Town, the Grand World area, and Phu Quoc International Airport.

They questioned two South Korean nationals suspected of working unauthorizedly as tour guides.

Authorities are investigating the matter and said the problem of foreigners working illegally as tour guides is rampant.

A Vietnamese tour guide on the island said last year he had seen four to five instances of foreigners leading tour groups.

Truong Cong Tam, chairman of the Phu Quoc Professional Tour Guide Association, said many foreigners without labor contracts with Vietnamese travel agencies have been guiding Russian and South Korean tour groups arriving on charter flights.

This is illegal in Vietnam.

"Vietnam has no shortage of Korean- or Russian-speaking tour guides to serve foreign visitors," Tam added.

The association has urged provincial authorities to take swift action, warning that this could harm the country's tourism industry.

In 2024 Phu Quoc received more than 960,000 international visitors, a 73% increase from the previous year.

According to local tourism businesses, the number of foreign tourists, particularly from South Korea, is on the rise.