Our country is situated at a geographical position favorable for international exchange, with a lot of beautiful landscapes and historical, cultural, artistic relics, and ours is a hospitable people; these constitute favorable conditions for developing tourism into an important national socio-economic branch.

Over recent years, together with the building and development of economic and cultural areas, many sightseeing and tourist sites have been embellished or constructed to serve millions of sightseers and tourists from inside and outside the country, actively contributing to the introduction of the Vietnamese people and culture and to the cause of national construction and socio-economic development. Nevertheless, there are still many weaknesses in the management of tourist resorts and sites in general and the maintenance and assurance of order, safety and environmental sanitation in tourist places in particular. The situation of disorderly and unchecked business and service activities, unhealthy competition in sale and purchase, deceitful sale tricks, sale of goods at exorbitant prices, disputes over tourists-customers, begging, gambling, even swindling and snatching of tourists� belongings� at sightseeing and tourist sites, has been on the rise, thereby causing public discontent and deteriorating the scenery and attractive values of tourist sites, badly affecting the image of the Vietnamese land and people.

In order to overcome the above situation, making the tourist environment clean and healthy, ensuring the sustainable development of tourism and building the image of Vietnam�s tourism into that of a cultural and civilized tourism, the Prime Minister requests the heads of all branches and levels and the presidents of the People�s Committees of the provinces and centrally-run cities to concentrate efforts on performing the following tasks:

1. To check, reorganize and re-plan tourist business and service activities at all sightseeing and tourist sites, especially in areas of historical and cultural relics or landscapes frequented by visitors. All business and service activities must comply with laws as well as rules of the sightseeing and tourist spots; To put an end to the illegal erection of sale stalls, peddling at sightseeing and tourist sites, begging, unhealthy sale competition and sale of goods at exorbitant prices, causing public disorder and running against the national fine customs and practices.

2. To check the sale of fares, collection of admission charges or fees; to suspend the operation of admission fare sale, admission charge and fee collection stations or posts in contravention of current regulations; at the same time to reorganize and rearrange them in a way convenient for sightseers and tourists, particularly at places of scenic beauty, historical and cultural relics frequented by visitors.

3. To intensify inspection and take proper managerial measures against trading and service activities likely to pollute or affect the tourist environment and scenery, the life and health of people, sightseers and tourists. At the same time to take measures to promptly check any epidemics from spreading to sightseeing and tourist places and vice versa.

4. The provincial People�s Committee presidents should direct the local tourism, culture and information services and police to closely coordinate together in further stepping up the extensive and intensive dissemination and education among the population about the maintenance of public order and security and the preservation of environmental sanitation and the significance of this work for the preservation and development of tourism in general and the development of tourism right in the localities in particular so that they clearly understand, voluntarily and actively participate in building civilized code of behaviors, maintaining public order and security, preserving the environmental sanitation at tourist spots.

5. The Ministry of Culture and Information and the provincial/municipal People�s Committees shall direct the functional agencies and the administration of various levels to strengthen the management, preservation, repair and embellishment of historical, cultural relics, places of scenic beauty, and at the same time, inspect and strictly handle all violations with a view to creating a healthy and attractive cultural environment right in each historical, cultural relic and each tourist site.

6. The ministries of: Public Security; Science, Technology and Environment; Health, Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs; and Culture and Information, shall coordinate with the National Administration of Tourism and the provincial/municipal People�s Committees in directing the local functional agencies to regularly supervise and inspect the observance of the regulations on the protection of public order and security, the assurance of the environmental sanitation at sightseeing and tourist spots, detect and handle promptly and strictly all violations according to law, putting the tourist business activities into order. It is a must to resolutely prevent and strictly handle all cases of taking advantage of tourist development activities or religious beliefs to encroach upon land belonging to the tourist sites, building residential houses or temples for making illegitimate profits or spreading superstitions in contravention of the national fine tradition, customs and practices.

7. The Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs shall, together with the Ministry of Public Security, quickly take measures to support and create conditions for the localities to encourage and render initial help to needy persons, disabled persons and tramps who are earning a living at the sightseeing and tourist sites so that they return to their native places and settle down there; and at the same time direct the local functional agencies to concentrate their forces on definitely doing away with the situation of begging, sellers� clinging to tourists to sell articles, which still continues to happen at sightseeing and tourist sites, especially at areas of historical and cultural relics.

8. The National Administration of Tourism shall coordinate with the ministries and branches in guiding the localities to build tourist lines and sites according to the tourism planning.

The ministers, the heads of the ministerial-level agencies, the heads of the agencies attached to the Government and the presidents of the People�s Committees of the provinces and centrally-run cities must speedily organize the implementation of this Directive. The National Administration of Tourism shall have to sum up the situation and report to the Prime Minister on the implementation of this Directive.

For the Prime Minister
Deputy Prime Minister
NGUYEN MANH CAM