山東旅遊條例10月起實施黑導遊欺客罰款萬元

大眾網-齊魯晚報   2010年07月31日

30日，省人大常委會審議通過了新修訂的《山東省旅遊條例》。 這是我省首次實行網上立法聽證的法規，網上聽證陳述人的部分意見被採納，該條例將從今年10月1日起實施。

　　在維護旅遊者合法權益方面，網上聽證陳述人建議，嚴禁導遊人員和司機在諸如旅遊商店、特色產品生產企業等收取回扣的行為，並規定相應的罰則。

　　新條例對此也有體現，遊客自主選擇是否購買經營者推薦的旅遊商品，自主決定是否接受合同外的服務。 無證“黑導遊”除了沒收違法所得外，最高可罰一萬元。

　　擅自在景區及周邊擺攤、設點、出租景觀以及尾隨、糾纏、欺騙、脅迫旅遊者購買商品或接受有償服務，將面臨最高5倍違法所得處罰，即便沒有違法所得，也可罰款500元至5000元。

　　修訂後的《山東省旅遊條例》第43條，對實行政府定價或者指導價的景區調價做出限制，如同一門票價格上調間隔不得低於三年，上調幅度不得超過國家規定的限額。 遵循法定程序調價，獲得批准之日起6個月後執行。

　　非依托國家自然資源和歷史人文資源、由商業性投資興建的景區，門票實行市場調節價，政府部門不得乾預。

　　網上立法聽證陳述人認為，對旅遊景區的政府性公務接待（免票）予以限制，給景區經營減負。

　　修訂後的條例明確規定，旅遊經營者有權拒絕沒有合法依據的行政檢查、收費、處罰、強制措施、集資、攤派、無償服務等。 這也就是說，景區有權對不合法的無償服務說不，而且對沒有法律依據的收費、處罰、集資、評比等都可以拒絕。

Minimum charge for inbound tours urged

China Daily  2010-07-24

The Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions (FTU) is urging that cheap tours for mainland travelers to the city be abolished and that a minimum fee be established, to rid the industry of the ugly scar resulting from tourists being abused and virtually ordered to make purchases at retail shops during tours.

The video of the Hong Kong tour guide Jane berating her mainland clients continues to create an uproar in the city's inbound tourism industry. Hotels, restaurants, retailers and services all stand to suffer because some tour companies charge rock bottom prices for tours, but expect travelers to spend lavishly during the tours. The federation dismissed the notion of better governance of tour guides and licensing, saying the real problem is inherent in the cut-rate tours.

"The key point is to settle down a per-day minimum charge over every mainland visitor," says Leung Fu-wah, vice-president of the FTU. "It's the fundamental to protect the welfare of travelers, help them distinguish 'shopping tour groups' from 'travel groups', as well as to insure the base pay of tour guides."

Leung issued his suggestions along with a proposal calling for "solutions to the deep-seated problems of the Hong Kong travel industry" on Friday. The proposal charged that the entire tourism industry suffers from a "chaotic management structure" and ambiguity about regulations pertaining to travel charges levied on mainland visitors. The proposal ended with a strong appeal for the settlement of minimum charges instead of enactment of inefficient measures.

Minimum charges for inbound group travelers are clearly defined in other countries and regions, says the proposal. Taiwan stipulates a minimum charge of NT$1,000 ($31) per day. Thailand charges a minimum of HK$350 per day.

According to Tourism Board statistics cited in the proposal, complaints about the Hong Kong tourism industry from mainland travelers have been a problem for several years, but erupted into a serious issue last year. Of 325 complaints from travelers in 2009, 313 (96.3 percent) were made by mainland visitors. Some of the complaints from mainlanders concerned so called forced shopping.

Addressing the reasons for the practice, Ann Yu Li-hua, Chairman of the Hong Kong Professional Tourist Guides General Union, explained that the important difference between what she referred to as "normal tourism trade" and "abnormal tourism trade" is that the charges for the "abnormal tourism business" only pay the fees of mainland booking agencies and that co-operating Hong Kong travel agencies don't make any money except from commissions earned from travelers' purchases.

"Tour guides are in the lowest position in the travel industry but bear the most pressure," says Lam Chi Ting, vice president of the Hong Kong Tourism Industry Employees General Union. "And this ends up with immoral shopping tour tactics."

"It's time for the government to bring some real changes to the nature of the industry instead of taking remedial measures," says Ip Wai Ming, a member of the Legislative Council.

The proposal, jointly released by the Hong Kong Tourism Industry Employees General Union and the Hong Kong Professional Tourist Guides General Union, didn't propose a minimum charge, saying there was a diversity of views on the issue. The groups appealed to the government to hold public consultations on minimum charges.

Will the tourist industry get it right this time?

China Daily   2010-07-23 

Video of a Hong Kong tourist guide berating a group of mainland tourists on a bus because they spent too little on shopping has been shown widely on televisions in Shanghai and other cities. That incident understandably has touched off a storm of public protest that threatens to ruin the image of Hong Kong as a favored tourist destination to millions of mainlanders.

To contain the damage, the Hong Kong government said it has given the Travel Industry Council (TIC) three months to come up with "concrete" measures to improve the image of Hong Kong. In what has been widely mocked as an outrageous understatement, Tourism Commissioner Philip Yung lamented that there have been a series of "quite" serious incidents, which "may" affect the reputation of Hong Kong as a tourist destination.

"The TIC has set up a taskforce to look at the longer term improvement measures," Yung said. "I'm sure, with the support of the travel trade and with the hard work of the TIC and the support of the government, there should be visible improvement with the implementation of these measures," he added.

We are not so sure.

Hong Kong's tourism industry is singularly inept in policing itself, and past records have shown that the TIC was laughably ineffectual in enforcing the measures it introduced.

Forced shopping has been a known disease of the Hong Kong tourism industry since the relaxation of visa requirement for mainland tourists years ago. The symptoms came into the open in mid 2007 when 50 mainland tourists complained to the TIC that they were deserted by their tour guides for refusing to shop as directed.

In response, the TIC introduced in June that year a new rule requiring travel agents to provide mainland tourists with detailed itineraries and, more important, a written pledge that they would not be forced to shop. What's more, travel agents were required to "register" their itineraries with the TIC. The rule stipulated that failure of compliance would be subject to a fine of between HK$50,000 to HK$200,000.

Introducing the rule, the then TIC executive director, Joseph Tung, emphasized the need to let visitors to Hong Kong know what to expect from their trips and that the duty of the tour guides was to ensure "tourists enjoy the fun of shopping in Hong Kong." The rule, when introduced, appeared to have received the support of the industry. It was praised by the then vice-chairman of the Hong Kong Association of Travel Agents, Paul Leung, as "a good move" for the protection of what he called "travelers' rights."

But that "good move" has apparently produced poor results. Although the practice of forced shopping has remained widespread, no travel agent is known to have been chastised. In the latest case, the TIC hasn't been seen to have invoked the rule to punish the travel agent involved, other than seeking to revoke the license of the offensive tour guide.

Commissioner Yung should know that the reputation of Hong Kong as a tourist destination has already been seriously damaged by that video showing the rude and mean behavior of the tour guide on the bus. Maybe he should be as skeptical as we are about the possible results of the "hard work" of the TIC.

Tourism is an important income earner for Hong Kong. It's time for the Commissioner and his colleagues to earn their keep.

HK sets up task force to study regulation of travel industry

China Daily   2010-07-23 

Hong Kong Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Rita Lau Thursday said a special task force has been set up to look into problems deriving from "zero fee" tours after incidents regarding mainland tourists being forced to shop happened in Hong Kong.

Speaking after a meeting with board members of the Travel Industry Council (TIC) of Hong Kong on Thursday, Lau said incidents involving mainland tourists being forced to shop have seriously struck the reputation of Hong Kong's tourism industry and there is an urgent need to redeem mainland tourists' confidence.

The TIC will deliver messages about quality tours to mainland tourists at main tourism spots, shopping centers and arrival ports in the near future. The Hong Kong Tourism Board will map out a string of events in this regard, Lau said.

"This is a very important responsibility of the TIC to continue to enforce the regulatory provisions governing the conduct and the level of services provided by tour guides," said Lau, adding that the task force will look deeper into the whole system regarding the qualifications required of tour guides before they could be issued tour guide licences.

The task force, jointly established by the city's government and the TIC, will also examine the need to look at any enforcement aspects which will facilitate the compliance of any standards required of a tour guide.

A number of TV stations in the mainland recently broadcasted a clip showing a female tour guide scolded at a mainland tourist for refusing to shop; On May 22, a tourist from Hunan province was suspected to die of heart attack after having conflicts with a tour guide without licence.

Lau said that a report with recommendations towards the problems will be released by the task force in late September.

HK tourism seeks to clean up its image

 China Daily   2010-07-29  

Beijingers who plan to travel to Hong Kong will be able to join tours without forced shopping and extra charges, the head of Hong Kong's tourism authority promised.

James Tien, chairman of the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB), was on a trip to the mainland to restore the image of Hong Kong tourism, which has been tarnished by a number of scandals in recent months.

Many tourist companies offered Hong Kong tours at very low prices to travelers from the mainland, but then forced participants to buy goods in assigned stores or pay extra charges.

In March, Li Qiaozhen, a guide in Hong Kong, rebuked a group of mainland tourists from Anhui province with humiliating language, because they, on a tour costing only 610 yuan per person, did not purchase many goods. The video recording of Li's abuse was posted on the Internet and then broadcast by many mainland TV channels. The incident provoked outrage in both the mainland and Hong Kong.

Tien said on Tuesday that HKTB suggested tourists from the mainland join prime tours charging around 4,000 yuan per person, and reminded people that Hong Kong is a high-cost tourist destination.

"It is impossible to enjoy a decent tour paying only around 1,000 yuan," Tien said.

To encourage tourists to pay more for their tours, the HKTB is promoting "prime and credible Hong Kong tours" in Beijing, as well as other big mainland cities.

It is cooperating with four travel agencies in the city - China International Travel Service, China Youth Travel Service, China Travel Service and Chunqiu International Travel Service - to offer tours without forced shopping and extra charges.

Yang Yang, general manager of the Chunqiu International Travel Service, said the prime Hong Kong tours offered by his agency, assigned by the HKTB, cost from 3,000 to 5,000 yuan.

Li Qiaozhen, who has been fired by her travel agency, publicly apologized on Tuesday.

"I hope the citizens of Hong Kong and the mainland will forgive my mistake," she said during a press conference.

Tien admitted that the scandals have affected the image of Hong Kong tourism, and that despite recent efforts, "it still needs time to redeem its reputation."

Many travel agencies, however, are still offering Hong Kong tours at incredibly low prices. METRO called a travel agency based in Shenzhen, which offers Hong Kong tours including a four-day tour for 800 yuan and a one-day tour for only 80 yuan. The employee answering the phone insisted that there is no forced shopping in the tours.

"There will be stores where tourists can shop voluntarily," he said.

國家旅遊局：零團費旅行社可被取消資質

人民網   2010-08-01 



國家旅遊局局長邵琪偉昨天對媒體表示，最近在香港發生的內地遊客遭強制購物事件，對赴港遊市場產生了負面影響。 在對已發生問題進行處理的同時，要對市場中存在的違規、違法行為進行查處，並擴大消費者的知情渠道，標本兼治規範赴港遊市場。


內地與香港旅遊工作磋商會議昨天在北京舉行，雙方就共同規範旅遊市場達成五項共識。 邵琪偉是在磋商會議結束後對媒體作如上表示的。


他說，近年來，內地赴港遊客大量增加，“不斷擴大的市場，對旅遊市場秩序的規範提出了新的要求和挑戰。”邵琪偉說，目前內地已經採取了一系列措施規範和治理旅遊市場。 比如，國家去年頒布並實施了《旅行社條例》。 今年國家旅遊局同國家工商總局共同製定並頒布了旅遊合同範本，就出境旅遊、入境旅遊以及國內遊的合同文本進行了規範。


在談到近期香港發生的零負團費問題引發的旅遊糾紛時，邵琪偉說，零負團費是一種擾亂市場的不正當競爭行為，內地有關法律明確禁止旅行社開展所謂的零負團費業務。 零負團費問題一經發現必須立即查處。 “我們對於旅行社的違規行為有明確的處罰規定，問題嚴重者甚至可取消其資質。”

強迫購物 forced shopping

中國日報網   2010年08月01日



近日，一段香港女導遊辱罵內地遊客的視頻在網上流傳，引起網友的一片嘩然。國家旅遊局與香港旅遊業界迅速做出反應，表示將妥善處理此事。27日，涉嫌強迫內地遊客購物並辱罵遊客的香港導遊李巧珍首次公開露面，她在記者會上稱對事件非常後悔，並鄭重向內地遊客和香港市民道歉。

請看《中國日報》的報道：
Beijingers who plan to travel to Hong Kong will be able to join tours without forced shopping and extra charges, the head of Hong Kong's tourism authority promised.

香港旅遊管理部門領導承諾，計劃赴香港旅遊的北京遊客在參加旅遊團時將不會被強迫購物及支付附加費用。

在上面的報道中，forced shopping就是“強迫購物”。以低團費吸引遊客的旅遊團一般都是通過這樣類似的手段獲取利益的，有些導遊帶遊客到assigned stores（指定商店）購物則可吃取rebate（回扣），有些旅遊團可能會中途要求遊客pay extra charges（支付額外的費用）。這種做法早已成為旅遊業界的hidden rule（潛規則）。

香港旅遊業界同時開始在內地大力推廣prime and credible Hong Kong tours（優質誠信香港遊）計劃，承諾遊客不會被強迫購物或支付額外費用。