The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) has just revoked the licence of Silent Bay Travel and Trade Company in Khanh Hoa Province for illegally recruiting foreign staff.

A VNAT inspection found 90 Chinese illegally working at Silent Bay Travel and Trade Company as office clerks, tour guides and customer care staff.

Among those, only Yang Ziming, who is general director of a Chinese travel company in Chengdu City, had a labour contract with Silent Bay. Under the contract, Ziming was responsible for sending Chinese people to work at Silent Bay for USD500,000 per year.

The firm’s General Director Dang Vu Thuy said that he had not hired the staff and they were actually employed via between Silent Bay and Ziming. So he did not go through the time-consuming paperwork for work permits.

Chinese travellers on a tour held by Silent Bay Trave and Trade Company

Ziming had previously proposed a similar deal to Paradise Bay Ltd. Co. in Nha Trang City; however, he was turned down.

According to Nguyen Van Kha from the Khanh Hoa Province’s Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, foreigners employed in Vietnam need a work permit.

“To date, the provincial Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs have not issued any work permits. So the 90 Chinese people working at Silent Bay were illegally employed,” Kha noted.

Phan Thanh Truc, Deputy Director of Khanh Hoa’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, however admitted that in reality, Vietnam’s tourism industry actually needed international tour guides, but they were only allowed to work in Vietnam after being licensed. If any travel company wants to hire foreigner employees, they can send their proposal to the local Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs for consideration.

Silent Bay was also found to have faked dossiers sent to the Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs to ask for outbound tours earlier.

In the dossier the company said its former general director Huynh Thi Minh Thanh, who is the mother of the firm’s current general director Dang Vu Thuy, had four-years of experience in outbound tour operations when she worked at Thanh Thanh Travel and Trade Service Ltd. Co before she managed Silent Bay.