Chinese pay $100 to go for a walk at Bondi Beach
Reports in The Sun Herald and The Sydney Morning Herald says that tens of thousands of Chinese tourists to Australia are being fleeced by rip-off travel companies and rogue traders every year, consumer groups have warned.
The situation is so bad that tourist industry officials fear Australia could be damaged as a brand and the massive economic benefits of the boom in travel from China could disappear.
Scams uncovered in Sydney include:
** Charging tourists $100 to walk on Bondi Beach or to have their photograph taken at the Opera House;
** Locking tourists in shops and confiscating passports until they spend big on overpriced goods;
** Unfulfilled promises of luxury central business district accommodation; and
** Travellers crammed into minibuses and denied free time for their own shopping and sightseeing.
Choice consumer group spokeswoman Indira Naidoo said: “A few years ago it was the Japanese who were being ripped off but now it is the Chinese.
They are perfect victims because they are not used to international travel, can be quite naive, and many of them have little or no English, so if someone tells them that a sign on the beach says it costs $100 to walk on it, then they will believe them.
“Culturally, also, the Chinese are reluctant to create a fuss and complain so they will go along with what they are being told.”
“We are already receiving thousands of complaints every year from Chinese tourists who are unhappy and we think that is the tip of the iceberg.”
“We estimate that only about 10% of those who are unhappy actually make a complaint, so in reality, tens of thousands of tourists are being ripped off.”
China is Australia’s fastest-growing inbound tourism market and annual numbers have soared by 280percent to more than 300,000 in the past seven years, making it the fifth biggest in terms of visitors and economic benefit.
By 2015, almost 1million Chinese visitors are expected to visit Australia each year.
The recent increase comes despite a survey of Chinese visitors by the Department of Industry, Tourism and Resources that found 40% were dissatisfied with their experiences here.
Both Choice and the Australian Tourism Export Council (ATEC) have received reports of tourists being held under virtual detention from the moment they arrive in Australia, with no free time.
Some are bussed directly from the airport to suburban warehouses which they are told are duty-free shops. “They are told they can’t shop in normal shops in Sydney because Australians don’t like the Chinese or the goods are overpriced,” Ms Naidoo said.
“We have had anecdotal reports of people being locked in a shop and their passports taken off them until they have spent a certain amount on very shoddy goods.”
The Federal Government has tightened the rules so tour operators that do not give tourists free time and unsupervised shopping can be banned, but legitimate travel companies say the Government it is not doing enough to banish rogue operators.
A report by The Mole, The Sun-Herald and The Sydney Morning Herald
John Alwyn-Jones
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