Difficulties in demanding travel deposits
At the beginning of April, reflecting to a reporter (PV) of Lao Dong Newspaper, Ms. Nguyen Vinh (name changed), living in Nghe An, spoke about falling into a miserable situation when having to demand a deposit from a travel agency.
The specific content of the case shows that in mid-October 2025, Ms. Vinh signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the business organizing the tour. According to the content of the agreement, Ms. Vinh handed over to the company the amount of 200 million VND to ensure the implementation of procedures related to the travel program. The two parties agreed that after completing the conditions according to the agreement, the company will return the above amount to Ms. Vinh.
However, after implementing the requests according to the agreement, so far I have not been refunded 200 million VND by the company. I have requested resolution many times but have not received a satisfactory answer" - Ms. Vinh said.
From people's feedback, Lao Dong Newspaper reporters also directly exchanged with the leaders of the travel company in the case, however, this person continuously gave reasons from the company's recent resumption of operations after Tet to preparing to pay, and not yet arranging the source of money... Finding the company's tax address on Ton Duc Thang street (Hanoi), reporters also discovered that the company no longer operates at the registered address.
Many victims similar to Ms. Vinh have reported the incident to the police agency about signs of property appropriation, requesting clarification of the amount of money collected, as well as the number of people affected related to this travel company.
The above is just a typical case to warn people to be cautious when participating in tourist tours, especially with units that offer cheap prices and require large deposits.
Recently, Hung Yen Provincial Police warned people to be vigilant against holiday tourism scams online. Subjects often advertise tours, hotel rooms, cheap air tickets, "package" visa services, refunds if they fail; and create fan pages and websites impersonating reputable units, running advertisements to create trust and appropriate property. When customers text, the subjects invite and ask victims to transfer deposits (30 - 50%) to reserve places. After customers transfer deposits, the subjects will block contact, erase traces and appropriate the above amount of money.
Fighting fraud during the peak tourist season
The Vietnam National Authority of Tourism has just sent an official dispatch to the Departments of Culture, Sports and Tourism of provinces and cities on preparing conditions to serve tourists during the Hung Kings Commemoration holiday, April 30 - May 1 and the 2026 summer tourist season. In which, functional agencies request the implementation of regulations on sanctioning administrative violations in the field of tourism specified in Decree No. 348/2025/ND-CP dated December 30, 2025 of the Government. Strengthen inspection and supervision, promptly detect and strictly handle organizations and individuals that do not ensure business conditions, standards of tourism service quality; acts of violating tourism law and related laws.
Propagate and raise awareness of tourists and tourism businesses in preventing and combating fraud in the online environment during the peak tourist season. Control the quality of tourism services in the area, especially travel, accommodation, tourist transportation, tour guide, dining and other tourism services at tourist areas, attractions and entertainment establishments. Previously, the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism also advised people to absolutely not transact through channels of unknown origin; only book services through official websites or reputable businesses with full legal information. Tourists should not transfer money when they have not clearly verified the service provider, do not access strange links, do not provide confidential information in any form. At the same time, it is necessary to limit public sharing of schedules and personal information on social networks to avoid being exploited. Businesses operating in the fields of travel, accommodation and tourism transport also need to proactively transparentize information, publicize business licenses, addresses and official contact channels, and standardize brand identity systems on digital platforms to promptly detect and handle counterfeit acts.
