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Travel agencies in vow to end stops at shops
By Lu Feiran |
August 10, 2010, Tuesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
ALL 42 travel service companies that are licensed to do overseas business in the city will soon sign a letter of commitment, promising there will be no shopping stops on Hong Kong tour packages, Shanghai tourism authorities said yesterday.
The packages will have "three no's" - no forced shopping, no extra fees for children and seniors and no extra-fees for items not listed on the contract, the Shanghai Tourism Administration said yesterday.
"We expect the letter of commitment will take effect in September," said Yang Fan, director of the bureau's market management department.
The bureau will monitor the market to see whether travel agencies keep their promises.
Officials will also monitor them by secretly organizing tourists and media to participate in tours to Hong Kong.
The administration may cancel business licenses for travel agencies that break the commitment, officials said.
The administration is also making a booklet for tourists that will provide travel tips and the procedure for filing a complaint.
Officials said recently that Hong Kong tours had become a focal point in the industry as the illegal business practices of agencies had dented the confidence of would-be travelers.
In July, a video spread on the Internet in which a tour guide was seen scolding her guests, who were not willing to shop in Hong Kong.
In the video, she was seen threatening them, saying: "You will have no food or accommodation if you don't buy anything."
The administration said people can either call its complaint hotline 962020 or the hotline of the tourism authorities in Hong Kong (852) 2929-2222.
The packages will have "three no's" - no forced shopping, no extra fees for children and seniors and no extra-fees for items not listed on the contract, the Shanghai Tourism Administration said yesterday.
"We expect the letter of commitment will take effect in September," said Yang Fan, director of the bureau's market management department.
The bureau will monitor the market to see whether travel agencies keep their promises.
Officials will also monitor them by secretly organizing tourists and media to participate in tours to Hong Kong.
The administration may cancel business licenses for travel agencies that break the commitment, officials said.
The administration is also making a booklet for tourists that will provide travel tips and the procedure for filing a complaint.
Officials said recently that Hong Kong tours had become a focal point in the industry as the illegal business practices of agencies had dented the confidence of would-be travelers.
In July, a video spread on the Internet in which a tour guide was seen scolding her guests, who were not willing to shop in Hong Kong.
In the video, she was seen threatening them, saying: "You will have no food or accommodation if you don't buy anything."
The administration said people can either call its complaint hotline 962020 or the hotline of the tourism authorities in Hong Kong (852) 2929-2222.
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