Published:  15:57 Friday - January 06, 2017

Tourists are being told to respect local customs and culture, abide by regulations at tourist and public areas, provide help to the disabled, the elderly, children and women, and protect the environment.

HCM City authorities announced a code of conduct for visitors on Thursday. They are also banned from damaging cultural and historical relics as well being urged not to waste food and drinks. The code of conduct will be printed in five languages including Chinese, English, Korean, Russian and Vietnamese and be designed in the shape of a folding fan.

According to deputy director of the city's Department of Tourism, La Quoc Khanh, the code was issued following an instruction from the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism. "This is a good time we introduce the code of conduct to visitors as we have just set a target of receiving 5.6 million foreign visitors in 2017," Khanh said. "We believe that it will help the tourism sector grow and become one of three key economic sectors of the city by the end of this year."

Talking about the launch of the code of conduct for tourists, chairman of Du Ngoan Viet Travel Company, Phan Xuan Anh believed it would resolve problems between travel agents and tourists. Vice director of Majestic Hotel, Huynh Thi Thu Nga, also said that the code of conduct was necessary to help develop the city's tourism industry. The code of conduct is available at three, four and five-star hotels, Tan Son Nhat Airport and travel agencies in the city and is offered as a small gift to visitors.