Human resources of Vietnam's tourism industry are weak in terms of foreign languages and professional skills, local newspaper Youth reported Wednesday.

Among 234,000 direct employees in the industry, over 60 percent have undergone full professional training, and among nearly 8,000 tourist guides, less than 70 percent have been granted professional cards which ensure their tourism-related qualifications.

Among 700 lecturers working at local universities having tourism faculties, only 4 percent have good command of two foreign languages, and 22 percent one foreign language, the report said.

Recently, the Vietnamese government asked the industry to further develop its human resources, focusing on enrichment of knowledge, professionalism, and behavior culture, in a move to receive 6 million foreign visitors in 2010.

In 2005, Vietnam is expected to welcome 3.4 million international arrivals and 16 million local visitors, up 17.2 percent and 17.6 percent, respectively, the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism told Xinhua recently, noting that the country is likely to earn around 33 trillion Vietnamese dong (nearly US$2.1 billion) from tourism services in the year.

(Xinhua News Agency December 7, 2005)