Shady Chinese operators flout new tourism law
Roy Graff, managing director of China market entry specialist, China Contact, says that the China National Tourism Organisation could be fighting a losing battle over the new national tourism law, which became effective October 1.
The law is meant to regulate the market for group travel, improve the quality of packaged tours and prevent unscrupulous travel operators from selling deeply discounted trips and making profits from shopping commissions and sales of optional excursions.
The aim of the law is positive and noble, Graff said.
“The law was drafted after countless complaints by tourists about the pressure they faced from tour leaders and tour guides, both inside and outside China, to buy inflated optional tours or spend on souvenirs in shops selected by the guides.
“It is the hallmark of inexperienced travellers that are quick to sign up to very cheap tours without considering the reason why they could buy them at such discounts.”
The immediate consequences of the law, Graff said, were that agencies were forced to hike up prices to account for the loss of shopping commissions.
“Destinations such as Australia and New Zealand saw a drop in group tour visits over the October China national holiday but an increase in visits just before the October 1.
“The growth in independent travel picked up speed, as prices for group tours are now converging with independent travel packages.”
However, Graff said, travel agencies were quick to realise that the law does not address independent travel services and packages, “so what happened next was not too surprising – they started selling the same tours as an independent travel package, to unsuspecting tourists who arrived at the destination (in this case, Taiwan) and were put on a bus with other ‘independent’ tourists, effectively becoming a tour group at the destination.”
Ian Jarrett
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