Chinese tour guides jailed for roughing up tourists
Five tour guides caught on camera assaulting and scamming tourists have been sentenced to up to a year in prison and fined.
A video went viral on Weibo a year ago showing the tour guides slapping tourists on a bus near the Great Wall and demanding money.
On the video one female guide could be heard shouting: "Do you understand or not? Give me money!"
After causing an outcry, police in Beijing and Hebei arrested four and a fifth later turned himself in to authorities.
The guides demanded a 160 yuan fee from each customer simply to stop the bus at the Great Wall for a short period.
When some occupants on the bus refused to pay, the guides became aggressive.
Strong arm tactics by Chinese tour guides have damaged the reputation of the tourist industry over the last few years in China and overseas.
Most of the shenanigans usually centre on the notorious ‘zero dollar tours’ which are cut price tour packages where tourists are shepherded around retail outlets and forced to spend money on overpriced goods.
In the past there were instances where tourists refusing to spend enough money were verbally berated and even physically assaulted.
Unsurprisingly the tour guides struck deals to pocket large commissions with the store owners.
TravelMole Editorial Team
Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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