Travel guidelines aim to root out rogue firms but are not compulsory

New guidelines aimed at clamping down on rogue one-day tour operators were rolled out in the capital on Monday.

The service standard, which was issued by the Beijing Tourist Development Committee, is aimed at improving tourists' experiences and cut down on complaints.

However, staff at three travel agencies contacted by METRO on Monday said they had never even heard of the plan, let alone received any advice.

According to the new official guidelines, salespeople should wear uniforms and identity badges, while tour guides should not be allowed to switch routes, add "shopping stops" or change the schedule. Companies are also required to sign contracts with customers and respond to complaints within three days.

None of these measures are compulsory, however. Instead the emphasis will be placed on hotels, said Wang He, a spokesman for the city's quality and technical supervision bureau.

Almost all hotels offer to arrange one-day trips for guests, although from now on any complaints about the travel agencies they use will go down as a black mark in the tourism committee's star-rating evaluations. The next round is in July.

However, many industry insiders do not believe the standard will have a major impact on preventing cheats.

"The new standard is neither enough nor practical. I don't think it'll take effect unless it has legal force, and I wonder which department will actually supervise it," said Gao Hong, owner ofNinety Percent Travel. Like the staff at Huayuan Pengcheng Travel Agency and Baoxiang Travel Agency, he has had no notice from authorities about the standard.

"Beijing's tourism market is so messy," he added. "There are too many loopholes for adventurers to take advantage of the psychology of buying things cheap and ignoring the content."

A survey by the Beijing Consumers' Association in May found seven frequent complaints about one-day tours: the lack of contracts, changing of routes, additional fees for unscheduled scenic spots, "surprise" shopping breaks, rushing visitors, bad catering and clueless guides.

Anna Leung, a tourist in Beijing from Hong Kong, said she was "very unhappy" with a trip to the Great Wall last month. She explained: "The price was OK, but the agency gave us only one hour at the site because they said we needed to head for the Ming Tombs before noon. Halfway there we were delayed at a jade shop for more than an hour because the bus had to be cleaned."

The tourism committee has received 500 complaints this year, with almost 200 about day trips, said director of service quality supervision Wang Defu. "People are attracted by cheap prices and there are normally no contracts before the journey."

China Daily

(China Daily 05/11/2011 page)