China moves to clean up travel contracts
BEIJING – China has taken further steps to outlaw zero-commission tours.
Tourists on zero-fee tours often find themselves in sub-standard, out of town accommodation, and being cajoled into buying souvenirs from selected outlets.
Destinations have condemned the practice, arguing that visitors go home with a bad impression of the country they have visited.
Extreme examples have included tour operators in Australia asking Asian tourists to pay to walk on Sydney’s Bondi beach, and a tour guide at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport cheating his Chinese customers by using fraudulent Tourism Authority of Thailand documents listing obscene girlie shows as non-optional tours.
China Hospitality News reports that with the unification of the outbound travel contracts in China, the current haphazard travel market caused by non-standard travel contracts will be changed.
News from a national travel work conference held in Jinan, Shandong Province, is that China will implement a unified contract for outbound travel this year and further promote the construction of a long-term travel credit system.
The credit system will compile information on travel agencies who break travel-related rules in China and also provide information to consumers about trustworthy travel businesses.
China National Tourism Administration and State Administration will draft the new travel contract sample for Industry and Commerce.
Ian Jarrett
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