After booking tickets, hotels and other services for their trip to thecapital of Vietnam , Dorothy Colton and her husband from Englandvisited the website www.tripadvisor.com to read recommendations fromtourists all over the world. They accidentally found Hanoi Free TourGuides, a non-profit organisation founded and run by youth. They triedbooking a free tour via email and received a reply just few minuteslater.
The couple is among hundreds of foreign touristsdiscovering Hanoi under the guidance of trained amateur tour guides.Established in January 2010, the group attracts more than 100 youngpeople, most of whom are students.
"Many internationaltourists have difficulties on their visit to the capital, whileVietnamese students lack the environment to practise foreign languages.Therefore, the group was founded to support foreigners as well as createan opportunity for students to acquire new knowledge and improve theirskills," said group leader Le Thanh Cong, who is studying at HanoiUniversity of Science and Technology.
When they were firstgetting established, the group had to spend a great deal of timepresenting themselves to the public. Information for aspiring tourguides was posted on websites of Hanoi universities and Facebook orspread by word of mouth.
To become a member of the group,students had to send their application package to reviewers. Afterpassing the first round, they were interviewed for language skillassessment and their understanding of Vietnamese culture and history.Every volunteer recruited then underwent training courses on Hanoi 'sculture, history, geography and must-see places. Also problem solvingand communication skills were taught.
Truong Thi Duyen, asenior of Hanoi Foreign Trade University , recalled: "I dreamedof becoming a tour guide for a long time. When I read about the groupon the internet, I thought this was the opportunity for me to make mydream come true, as well as to develop my English. Lucky for me, I waschosen."
Tour guides carry out other duties as well:introducing the group to foreign tourists. At first, they deliveredleaflets at hotels and tourism spots but it did not bring any success.Not being discouraged, they reached to potential sightseers throughtravel websites such as www.lonelyplanet.com, www.virtualtourist.com andwww.tripadvisor.com and it worked.
The group's inboxreceived dozens of requests from tourists around the world, most of themcoming from Southeast Asia, Europe and North America . At present, thegroup offers tours in English, Russian, French and Chinese. On theirwebsite at www.hanoifreetourguides.com, they provide full-day andhalf-day packages to foreigners. The free tour guides are also willingto take tourists to places following their own itinerary.
Nguyen Thi Mat from Hanoi National University has a lot ofmemories of her four tours. "I took an English family to Bat Trangpottery village on my second time.
While they were tryingto make their products, the owner of a store turned on music. Thetourists left their work behind and started dancing in front of localpeople," she smiled.
"When they go back to theircountries, I often exchange emails with the visitors. A retired Canadianteacher helped me learn English more effectively."
Thevolunteers all learn something after every tour. Duyen said that now sheknows more about religions of the world, while Mat has improved herEnglish speaking skills.
The first thing to cross[Dorothy] Colton 's mind while reading about the group was "It ‘s toogood to be true". She did not understand why they were doing this.Wandering around the city under the guidance of Duyen, she said: "It'sso much better to have someone to take me to an iPhone shop and localmarket and coffee shop. Every city should have the same service."
"I don't think many students in England are willing to spend theirtime taking tourists around. I am very impressed because students hereuse their time to travel with us instead of doing part-time jobs to earnmoney," she added.
The same thing happened to SharleenAirs, who went on holiday with her husband and daughter. "I was a bitcurious and surprised because everything costs something. It's veryunusual to have free tours with people who absolutely understand theculture that we have no idea about," she said
"I read somereviews from foreigners who had used the service before. In my opinion,it's very good idea because travel agencies try to charge you almost 40USD to do the same thing."
It was the first time she hadever heard of a free tour guide group, so she tried to take advantage ofit. "Next time when I come back, I will definitely have a free tour,maybe a tour outside of the city. I will be on trip advisor, tellingeverybody because looking at a map is too confusing for us," she smiled.
Now, the tour guides are expanding their operation to thecentre and the south, beside carrying out charitable activities in thecommunity.
"We are contacting students in the central cityof Da Nang and HCM City to open more free tour guideorganisations. In the near future, the groups will be in the centre andthe south of Vietnam ," Cong said./.
The couple is among hundreds of foreign touristsdiscovering Hanoi under the guidance of trained amateur tour guides.Established in January 2010, the group attracts more than 100 youngpeople, most of whom are students.
"Many internationaltourists have difficulties on their visit to the capital, whileVietnamese students lack the environment to practise foreign languages.Therefore, the group was founded to support foreigners as well as createan opportunity for students to acquire new knowledge and improve theirskills," said group leader Le Thanh Cong, who is studying at HanoiUniversity of Science and Technology.
When they were firstgetting established, the group had to spend a great deal of timepresenting themselves to the public. Information for aspiring tourguides was posted on websites of Hanoi universities and Facebook orspread by word of mouth.
To become a member of the group,students had to send their application package to reviewers. Afterpassing the first round, they were interviewed for language skillassessment and their understanding of Vietnamese culture and history.Every volunteer recruited then underwent training courses on Hanoi 'sculture, history, geography and must-see places. Also problem solvingand communication skills were taught.
Truong Thi Duyen, asenior of Hanoi Foreign Trade University , recalled: "I dreamedof becoming a tour guide for a long time. When I read about the groupon the internet, I thought this was the opportunity for me to make mydream come true, as well as to develop my English. Lucky for me, I waschosen."
Tour guides carry out other duties as well:introducing the group to foreign tourists. At first, they deliveredleaflets at hotels and tourism spots but it did not bring any success.Not being discouraged, they reached to potential sightseers throughtravel websites such as www.lonelyplanet.com, www.virtualtourist.com andwww.tripadvisor.com and it worked.
The group's inboxreceived dozens of requests from tourists around the world, most of themcoming from Southeast Asia, Europe and North America . At present, thegroup offers tours in English, Russian, French and Chinese. On theirwebsite at www.hanoifreetourguides.com, they provide full-day andhalf-day packages to foreigners. The free tour guides are also willingto take tourists to places following their own itinerary.
Nguyen Thi Mat from Hanoi National University has a lot ofmemories of her four tours. "I took an English family to Bat Trangpottery village on my second time.
While they were tryingto make their products, the owner of a store turned on music. Thetourists left their work behind and started dancing in front of localpeople," she smiled.
"When they go back to theircountries, I often exchange emails with the visitors. A retired Canadianteacher helped me learn English more effectively."
Thevolunteers all learn something after every tour. Duyen said that now sheknows more about religions of the world, while Mat has improved herEnglish speaking skills.
The first thing to cross[Dorothy] Colton 's mind while reading about the group was "It ‘s toogood to be true". She did not understand why they were doing this.Wandering around the city under the guidance of Duyen, she said: "It'sso much better to have someone to take me to an iPhone shop and localmarket and coffee shop. Every city should have the same service."
"I don't think many students in England are willing to spend theirtime taking tourists around. I am very impressed because students hereuse their time to travel with us instead of doing part-time jobs to earnmoney," she added.
The same thing happened to SharleenAirs, who went on holiday with her husband and daughter. "I was a bitcurious and surprised because everything costs something. It's veryunusual to have free tours with people who absolutely understand theculture that we have no idea about," she said
"I read somereviews from foreigners who had used the service before. In my opinion,it's very good idea because travel agencies try to charge you almost 40USD to do the same thing."
It was the first time she hadever heard of a free tour guide group, so she tried to take advantage ofit. "Next time when I come back, I will definitely have a free tour,maybe a tour outside of the city. I will be on trip advisor, tellingeverybody because looking at a map is too confusing for us," she smiled.
Now, the tour guides are expanding their operation to thecentre and the south, beside carrying out charitable activities in thecommunity.
"We are contacting students in the central cityof Da Nang and HCM City to open more free tour guideorganisations. In the near future, the groups will be in the centre andthe south of Vietnam ," Cong said./.
