‘Photos one way, the tour another’ is the classic Vietnamese tourism complaint — and it is advertising conduct the law sanctions directly, not merely a business-ethics issue. From 15/5/2026 the advertising penalty framework was replaced with higher fines. This article maps the advertising boundaries for travel companies, hotels and travel KOLs.
The base principle: advertise only what you actually have
The Advertising Law 16/2012/QH13, as amended by Law 75/2025/QH15, requires advertising information to be truthful, accurate, clear and non-misleading as to business capability, quality and characteristics of products and services. Applied to tourism, three claim groups draw the closest scrutiny: tour programmes — advertising destinations and inclusions (hotel grade, meals, transport) that differ from the actual programme or are unilaterally changed after sale; accommodation grades — a hotel or resort not recognised at a grade by the tourism authority, or self-upgrading in ads, misstates service quality; and pricing — ‘from’ prices without stated conditions and undisclosed surcharges mislead on price and simultaneously engage pricing and consumer-protection law. A travel company may advertise only programmes within its travel licence; advertising international tours without an international travel licence is a double violation — advertising plus conditional business.
New fines under Decree 87/2026/ND-CP
From 15/5/2026, Decree 87/2026/ND-CP replaced Decree 38/2021/ND-CP on administrative penalties in culture and advertising. Advertising that is untrue or misleading as to business capability, supply capability and product or service quality is fined in a high band — clause 5 of Article 50 of Decree 87/2026 sets fines up to VND 80-100 million for individuals under the decree’s penalty convention (organisations are fined double: VND 160-200 million) — plus forced correction and removal of the violating advertisement. This is materially higher than the old decree’s 60-80 million band (also an individual-level band). For conduct occurring before 15/5/2026 but detected later, Decree 87/2026’s transitional clause applies the instrument in force when the act occurred — companies auditing old campaigns must layer by this date. Beyond advertising fines, deceiving customers in tour sales also engages consumer-protection law (Law 19/2023/QH15) on compensation and transaction information.
Travel KOLs: transmitters carry real responsibility
The 2025 advertising amendments strengthen the responsibility of advertising transmitters — including travel KOLs and review influencers: they must clearly identify content as advertising or sponsored as prescribed, must not convey false information about destinations and services within the content they transmit, and must cooperate in removal and correction when required. Travel-KOL risk concentrates in three content forms: ‘genuine experience’ reviews that are in fact paid but carry no advertising label; claims about a partner’s services (star grade, amenities) beyond verified reality; and using images of other destinations or hotels in place of the advertised property. Contracts between tourism businesses and KOLs should include: factual-claim approval before posting, advertising-labelling duty, removal within a deadline when required, and fine allocation between the parties by fault.
Recommendations
Run a three-touchpoint clearance process for tourism advertising: reconcile the tour programme and licence before release; use only real assets of the advertised service in the image library; and retain campaign records (creative, channels, run dates) for correction and complaint defence. Every campaign launched before 15/5/2026 should be re-cleared against Decree 87/2026/ND-CP standards if it continues running after that date.
Frequently Asked Questions
What binds tour and hotel advertising?
Information must be truthful, matching the programme and travel licence, matching the recognised star grade, with clear prices and conditions under Advertising Law 16/2012 (as amended by Law 75/2025). Advertising international tours without an international travel licence violates both advertising and business-condition rules.
What is the fine for false advertising?
Under Decree 87/2026/ND-CP effective 15/5/2026 replacing Decree 38/2021: untrue or misleading advertising on supply capability and service quality is fined up to the VND 80-100 million band for individuals (organisations are fined double: VND 160-200 million), plus forced correction and removal. Earlier conduct follows the instrument in force at the time, per the transitional clause.
What responsibility do travel KOLs carry?
Advertising transmitters must label advertising or sponsored content, answer for false information in the content they convey, and cooperate in removal and correction when required under the 2025 amendments. Paid reviews without a label are the most common violation.
Can advertising use images from elsewhere?
Using photos of other destinations or hotels in place of the advertised service misleads on quality and characteristics — an advertising violation and adverse evidence when customers claim compensation under consumer-protection law.
This article has been quality-reviewed by the FLAW AI Legal Council