A group of students in Hanoi is volunteering free tour guide services for foreign visitors coming to the capital city.

Thuy Linh, Head of Hanoikids Club and senior student of the Foreign Trade University– Hanoi, said Hanoikids was established in 2006 to satisfy a need to practise English skills.

From a few students initially, Hanoikids has grown to 200 members. Over the past two years, the club has always topped the ranking voted by readers of tourism website tripadvisor.com.

Linh said that in the early days, club members had to go to airport and hotels by bus to deliver leaflets to foreign tourists, and post their club information on websites such as tripadvisor.com or lonelyplanet.com. Participating members were selected using strict criteria, to ensure prestige with foreign guests.

At present, Hanoikids can serve over 100 tours a month on average, with tourists coming from Australia , the US , France and Southeast Asian countries.

“Students from Hanoikids are wonderful and savvy companions who can take you to everywhere you want,” said Marsone, a tourist from Sydney , Australia .

“If you just want to discover the city, Hanoikids members will help you find the most exciting journey – i t was my greatest time in Vietnam ,” she said.

Hanoikids would like to see volunteer tourism clubs in cities and provinces nationwide to attract more visitors to Vietnam. /.