2011-02-19 17:45

BEIJING - China's National Tourism Administration (NTA) said Friday that it had urged local authorities to improve the management of outbound tour groups to avoid improper behavior.

The announcement was made following several disputes that took place between mainland tourists and tour guides in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan during the past Spring Festival holiday.

Travel agencies should provide tourists all information, especially on laws and regulations of the tour destination, and inform travelers about both their rights and obligations during the trips.

Leaders of tour groups are responsible for organizing and guiding tourists, and they should properly deal with problems if anything occur, said the NTA.

Disputes and fights had occurred during the week-long holiday and even caused injuries. This included an alleged attack in Macao and reports of fights between mainland tourists and tour guides in Hong Kong and Taiwan.

In a separate statement concerning the disputes in Hong Kong and Macao, the NTA said that it has enhanced contact with tourism departments in the two regions and ordered related departments to properly handle the incidents.

On Friday, the Cross-Strait Tourism Exchange Association, a mainland civic group that negotiates tourism exchanges with Taiwan, said that it was actively working to boost communication between the mainland and Taiwan tourism associations to properly solve disputes.