|
The HCMC Tourism Association has continued to petition Vietnam
National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) and the central bank to allow travel
agencies to enjoy commercial term interest rates from deposits instead of the
low rate for call deposits.
Nguyen Thi Khanh, vice chairwoman of the HCMC Tourism Association, said that
the organization would continue to send the petition to relevant agencies until
they get a convincing reply.
“We proposed this solution earlier this year and were told to wait but no
feedback has come so far,” according to Khanh. She noted that such support was
needed for tourism businesses given the current increasingly difficult economic
conditions.
As per the Tourism Law, any firm applying for a business license in the
international travel segment is required to deposit a sum of VND250 million at a
bank. This amount will be used as an indemnity for customers in necessary cases.
Upon the confirmation of a deposit from the bank, VNAT will grant the travel
agency with the license.
A source from VNAT told the Daily that total deposits by nationwide travel
agencies had risen to around VND200 billion as of earlier this year.
VNAT has suggested using profits from deposits on travel promotion activities
but encountered objections from companies. These firms said that the right to
decide on how to use profits belongs to them.
With non-term rates like now, each of such enterprises will annually lose dozens
of millions of Vietnam dong as interest sums from deposits. The money is a lot
for the companies, as most of them are small and medium-sized enterprises.
|
