FURAMA RESORT DANANG: RUSSIAN-SPEAKING STAFF ENHANCING THE RESORT EXPERIENCE

Tourism market grows but human resources haven’t kept pace

International visitors surge, foreign language tour guides remain scarce

In the first six months of 2026, Vietnam welcomed nearly 12.3 million international visitors, an increase of 14.9%. Specifically, Russian visitors reached approximately 742,700, surging by 185.8%, becoming the third-largest market after China and South Korea.

This is a very encouraging sign. However, behind that growth rate lies a thought-provoking paradox: the entire country currently has only 462 international tour guides who speak Russian.

Out of a total of 27,663 international tour guides, 15,208 speak English and 6,918 speak Chinese; meanwhile, there are only 759 for Japanese, 369 for German, 323 for Spanish, and 225 for Italian.

Tourism human resource training has not kept pace with the market

The issue is not just a lack of people who know foreign languages. What is more worrying is that the market is changing faster than the tourism industry’s ability to prepare human resources. Flight routes can be opened quickly, but people cannot be trained in a single season.

As of mid-June 2026, Vietnam has 4,615 international travel enterprises. In just six months, 285 new licenses were granted, reflecting great confidence in market prospects. However, while a business can be established in a few months and a flight route can be opened after a promotional season, training a tour guide proficient in Russian, Japanese, German, or Arabic takes many years.

Tourism foreign language skills are not just about speaking a few conversational phrases. A guide must understand culture, history, guest psychology, religion, cuisine, law, crisis management skills, and the art of storytelling. They must convey very Vietnamese things using a language and frame of reference that tourists can feel. Therefore, we cannot wait for visitor numbers to increase before opening classes.

Foreign language human resources: Gaps and opportunities

The Russian language human resource puzzle

Previously, for the Russian market, the tourism industry relied heavily on Vietnamese people who had studied, worked, or lived in the Soviet Union and Russia. They had good Russian language skills, understood the culture, and had practical experience. However, most of this workforce is now over 60 years old. They remain a valuable source of knowledge, but it is difficult for them to regularly lead long itineraries or work at high intensity.

Meanwhile, the next generation is not yet strong enough. The Russian market had declined for a long time, leading few students to choose Russian studies, businesses hesitant to hire long-term, and schools finding it difficult to maintain classes when the job outlook was unclear.

The result is a vicious cycle: no visitors means no training; when visitors return, there aren’t enough people to serve them in time.

Growing demand for foreign language human resources

A representative of a business specializing in the Russian market stated that newly graduated Russian language students, if proficient, can earn an income of about 20–26 million VND per month. Companies like Anex and ABTour are also ready to accept paid interns and guarantee job opportunities if requirements are met.

This shows that the issue is no longer the question “will there be a job after studying Russian?”. The market has begun to answer with recruitment demand and income. What is missing is a sufficiently tight connection mechanism between schools, businesses, management agencies, and students.

The triple-party cooperation model in tourism human resource training

Schools need to train based on market forecasts

At a recent workshop at Furama Resort Danang on the cooperation between the three parties: State – School – Enterprise, a very clear issue was raised: universities should not just accept “orders” when businesses are already short of people. Schools must participate from the market forecasting stage.

If Russia, Japan, India, the Middle East, or Eastern Europe are identified as key markets in the next three to five years, training programs must be prepared today.

Specialized training for each visitor market

Dual programs are needed, for example:

* Russian language combined with tourism operations;

* Japanese for hotels, MICE, and golf;

* German for heritage tourism and long-stay vacations;

* Arabic for Halal tourism;

* thematic classes in Polish, Czech, or Spanish serving new markets.

Businesses need to participate from the beginning by forecasting demand, sending experts to teach, providing scholarships, accepting paid interns, and committing to recruitment. And perhaps mass training should be avoided. We could pilot 30–50 students per language, but the training must be in-depth, linked to practice, and have clear career paths.

Utilizing human resources during the transition period

While waiting for the new generation to be trained, businesses in the Russian market propose researching mechanisms to utilize Russians living and working legally in Vietnam, along with local Vietnamese who know Russian. Of course, they cannot replace the legal role of licensed tour guides, but they can participate in roles such as:

* language assistants;

* customer care;

* airport and hotel support;

* specialized interpreters;

* Russian communication and culture training;

* Russian content auditing.

At the same time, those who have studied and worked in Russia, even if they are older, can still become practical instructors, cultural advisors, and trainers for the next generation. This is a way to avoid wasting a source of knowledge accumulated over many decades.

Will AI replace tour guides?

What about AI? AI supports language, but it cannot replace understanding. AI and automated translation tools can help guests read menus, find directions, ask for information, or handle basic communication. However, technology cannot yet replace a person who understands culture, recognizes the group’s mood, handles incidents, and tells an emotional story. AI solves basic language needs; humans create trust, understanding, and memories of the destination.

Russian guests need receptionists, restaurants, spas, hospitals, transportation, and rescue services with basic communication skills. Indian guests need a team that understands wedding ceremonies, vegetarian cuisine, and how to organize large groups. Middle Eastern guests need staff who understand Halal, privacy, and family needs. Japanese guests need precision, cleanliness, punctuality, and clear information.

Therefore, three levels of human resources are needed:

In-depth level: tour guides, market operators, interpreters, and sales.

Professional level: hotel, restaurant, airport, hospital, and attraction staff.

Digital support level: chatbots, menus, maps, signs, and multilingual content.

Human resources will determine the competitiveness of Vietnam’s tourism

In 2026, Vietnam aims to welcome 25 million international visitors. Singapore expects about 17–18 million visitors and targets tourism revenue of about 31–32.5 billion SGD. Malaysia has set a very high goal for Visit Malaysia 2026 with 47 million international visitors, although Malaysia’s “visitor arrivals” statistical scope may be broader and not entirely comparable to Vietnam’s tourist targets.

The ASEAN tourism competition is increasingly a competition for people, and Vietnam is not the only ASEAN country facing the tourism human resource puzzle.

Because in the new ASEAN tourism competition, the winning country is not just the one that welcomes more visitors.

It is the country that understands guests more deeply, serves them better, and prepares its people sooner.