Tour guides face fines if they make clients shop,Tourism Law implemented in China

BEIJING: Travel agencies could be fined 300,000 yuan ($49,000) or more if they force clients to go shopping during a tour, according to the Tourism Law that came into effect on Oct.1,2013.

According to the law, a travel agency is not allowed to lure clients by organizing tours at an “irrationally low price” and later having them go shopping in order to get kickbacks from the stores.

Unless clients have agreed to or want to go shopping, and their shopping doesn’t disrupt the agenda of others in the tour, the agency is not allowed to ask its clients to shop in certain places.

What’s more, guides must not ask for tips from their clients or lure or force tourists to buy things or pay extra money for activities they don’t want to take part in, and tourists have the right to refuse services they don’t want, said the law.

In early July, a male guide surnamed Meng threatened and cursed tourists during a tour to Beijing when they refused to buy more in shops. Police later detained the guide.

Many travel agencies raised the prices of tours after the law came out, and the more shopping or extra services during the tour, the more the price was hiked, said Zhang Lingyun, dean of the research institute of tourism development of Beijing International Studies University.

Yet the law can help improve the tourism industry from vicious price competition, he added.

However, Zhang is cautious how the law will work in the long run, though most of the agencies are discreet enough not to break the law at present.Tourists should stand up for themselves when they are forced to pay, he said.

China’s first tourism law makes holidays more expensive

According to Xinhua news, China  started implementing its first tourism law on October 1st. Travel agencies are required to demonstrate more price transparency, stating clearly what they are charging and what’s not included in tour packages. However, the number of people signing up for tour packages seems to be falling.

Since the new tourism law forbids additional fees and forced goods purchases arranged by travel agencies, tour package prices have gone up by an average of 20 percent. The rising prices, plus the potential travellers who have decided to wait, has meant that tourist flow has suffered a downfall of about 20 percent compared to the same period last year.

Before, small travel agencies often ran gimmicks that lured tourists in and slapped hidden charges on unsuspecting tourists once they’d signed up. When the new tourism law takes effect, such practices will be strictly monitored and punished to ensure the best interests of travellers.

According to the tourism bureau, tour package prices now are actually within a normal price range as the agency’s grey income has been removed from the list. Many travel agencies have already redesigned their tour packages in compliance with the new law and for the past two months, complaints about travel services have declined by 5 percent.- Xinhua