Decision No. 63/2008/QD-TTg stipulates the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Pursuant to …;

Regulations on the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Tourism Administration under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism

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PRIME MINISTER

Pursuant to the Law on Organization of the Government dated December 25, 2001;

Pursuant to the Tourism Law on June 14, 2005;

Pursuant to Decree No. 178/2007/NĐ-CP dated December 3, 2007 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of Ministries and ministerial-level agencies;

Pursuant to Decree No. 185/2007/NĐ-CP dated December 25, 2007 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism;

1. To fully exploit and effectively utilize the potential, infrastructure system, and position of the Region, with Ho Chi Minh City as the leading force, to create a driving force for comprehensive development in the fields of culture, family, physical education and sports, and tourism, thereby promoting the cultural market, physical education and sports activities, and tourism throughout the country and other localities.

DECISION:

Article 1. Position and Functions

1. The Tourism Administration is an agency directly under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, with the function of advising the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism on state management and implementing state management tasks and powers over tourism throughout the country.

2. The Tourism Administration has legal personality, bears the seal of the State Emblem, is a budgetary unit at level II, and maintains a separate account at the National Treasury.

b) Draft five-year and annual socio-economic development plans for the province; major economic and social balances for the province; draft five-year and annual plans, programs, projects, measures to organize and implement tasks related to socio-economic development, finance-budget, planning-investment, and other tasks within the scope of state management of the Department of Finance as prescribed by law;

The Tourism Administration performs specific tasks and powers as follows:

1. Submit to the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism for submission to the Government and the Prime Minister for decision:

a) Draft laws, draft resolutions of the National Assembly, draft ordinances, and draft resolutions of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly; draft resolutions, decrees of the Government on tourism, and other projects and programs assigned by the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism;

b) Strategies, overall plans for the development of tourism, national target programs, action programs, and important national projects and works on tourism; draft decisions and directives of the Prime Minister on the field of tourism;

c) Negotiations, signing, and joining international treaties on tourism in accordance with the law; deciding on the establishment of overseas representative offices of Vietnamese tourism, permitting the establishment of foreign tourism agencies' representative offices, international tourism organizations, and regional organizations in Vietnam;

d) Applications for recognition of national tourist areas, national tourist routes, and national tourist spots.

2. Submit to the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism for decision:

a) Long-term, five-year, and annual plans for tourism development; projects and programs on tourism for the Minister to decide within his authority;

b) Draft decisions, directives, circulars on tourism; normative legal documents prescribing standards and economic-technical quotas on the field of tourism;

c) Criteria for classification and ranking of tourist accommodation facilities; conditions, files, procedures for ranking, and models of grade signs for tourist accommodation facilities; standards and models of signs for tourist service facilities meeting standards in tourist areas, tourist sites, and tourist cities;

d) Rules for investigating, evaluating, and classifying tourism resources; rules for managing tourist areas within administrative boundaries of two provinces or centrally-administered cities or more;

d) Provisions on protection, restoration, development, exploitation, and utilization of tourism resources and the tourism environment in tourist areas and tourist sites;

e) Provisions on management, procedures, and files for issuing, changing, reissuing, and revoking tour guide licenses and tour guide certificate holders;

g) Provisions on job titles and standards in the tourism sector;

h) Documents guiding the implementation of legal provisions on travel agency operations; tourist accommodation; promotion and marketing of tourism; planning for tourism development; operation and development of tourist areas and sites and other tourism services;

3. The Tourism Administration directs and organizes the implementation of:

a) Guidance, inspection, and responsibility for implementing regulatory documents, strategies, plans, programs, and projects on tourism that have been approved by competent authorities;

b) Organizing domestic and international tourism promotion activities; coordinating regional and local tourism promotion activities according to the division of responsibilities by the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism;

c) Developing promotional publications, advertising materials for tourism, national, regional, and international programs, events, conferences, and trade fairs on tourism;

d) Publicly announcing national tourist areas, national tourist sites, and national tourist routes according to the provisions of the law;

đ) Studying, surveying, evaluating, and classifying domestic and foreign tourism markets; researching and proposing mechanisms and policies for developing tourism products suitable to tourists' preferences; promoting and introducing domestic and foreign tourism products;

e) Building and guiding the use, exploitation, and management of the national tourism database and organizing tourism information at international border gates and tourist areas;

g) Inspecting the implementation of international treaties on tourism signed or joined by the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, international programs and projects funded for tourism according to the delegation of the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the provisions of the law;

h) Participating in international organizations, conferences, seminars, trade fairs, events, cooperation programs, and plans in the field of tourism according to the delegation and delegation of the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the provisions of the law;

i) Implementing investment projects in tourism within the scope delegated by the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the provisions of the law;

k) Deciding on the ranking of tourist accommodation facilities from three stars upwards, high-class ratings for vacation homes and holiday apartments according to the provisions of the law;

l) Issuing, changing, and revoking permits for international travel agency operations; issuing, extending, changing, amending, and revoking permits for the establishment of branches of foreign tourism enterprises in Vietnam according to the provisions of the law;

m) Uniformly managing the issuance of tour guide licenses and tour guide certificates throughout the country according to the provisions of the law;

n) Managing subordinate public institutions under the Tourism Administration, organizations providing public services in the field of tourism according to the delegation of the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the provisions of the law;

o) Organizing scientific research, applying scientific and technological progress, and protecting the environment in the field of tourism and tourism resources according to the delegation of the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the provisions of the law;

p) Guiding non-governmental organizations participating in activities in the field of tourism;

q) Implementing administrative reform programs according to the goals and contents of the administrative reform program approved by the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism;

r) Organizing inspection work, coordinating audits, implementing anti-corruption, thrift, and negative practices, and violations of the law in the field of tourism according to the delegation of the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the provisions of the law;

s) Organizing commendation and reward work in tourism activities according to the delegation of the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the provisions of the law;

t) Managing organizational structures and staffing; implementing salary systems and policies, incentives, rewards, and disciplinary measures; coordinating training and professional development for tourism staff according to the delegation of the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the provisions of the law;

u) Manage financial resources and assets assigned and organize the implementation of allocated budgets in accordance with the provisions of the law;

v) Perform other tasks and exercise other powers delegated by the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism;

Article 3. Organizational Structure

1. The Travel Department.

2. The Hotel Department.

3. The Tourism Market Department.

4. Department of Finance.

5. International Cooperation Department;

6. Organization and Cadre Department.

7. Office.

8. Travel Information Center.

9. Institute for Tourism Development Research.

10. Tourism Magazine.

11. Tourism Newspaper.

The Departments of Travel Agency, Hotel, Tourism Market, and the Office shall be organized into divisions.

In this Article, organizations specified from Clause 1 to Clause 7 are administrative organizations assisting the General Director in performing state management functions; organizations specified from Clause 8 to Clause 11 are subordinate public service units of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (as provided for in Decision No. 149/QĐ-TTg dated February 4, 2008 of the Prime Minister on public service units under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism).

The Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism shall submit to the Prime Minister for decision on establishing, renaming, dissolving, restructuring, and reorganizing administrative organizations of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism.

The Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism shall decide on establishing, dissolving, restructuring, and reorganizing other subordinate public service units of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism in accordance with the provisions of the law.

Article 4. Leadership

1. The Tourism Administration has a Director General and not more than three Deputy Directors General.

2. The General Director and Deputy General Directors of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism shall be appointed, relieved of duty, transferred, or reassigned by the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism in accordance with the provisions of the law.

3. The General Director of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism shall stipulate the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of organizations and units under the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism.

4. The General Director of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism shall be responsible before the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism and before the law for all activities of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism. Deputy General Directors of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism shall be responsible before the General Director and before the law for the areas of work they are assigned to manage.

Article 5. Effectiveness and Responsibility for Implementation

1. This Decision shall take effect fifteen days after its publication in the Official Gazette.

2. The Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Ministers, Heads of ministerial-level agencies, Heads of agencies under the Government, Chairpersons of People's Committees of provinces and centrally governed cities, and the General Director of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism shall be responsible for implementing this Decision./.