Search China Travel News:

The National Tourism Administration circulated a notice on Wednesday listing disciplinary measures taken against five travel agencies for violating regulations in overseas tourism. Among them, Yangtze International Travel Agency of Central China's Hubei Province and Zhangzhou China International Travel Service of East China's Fujian Province have been forbidden to run overseas tours from January 3. Another three agencies are temporarily suspended from organizing overseas tours. Eighteen travel services were criticized publicly for their violations of rules governing the industry. Some of the punished agencies organized tour groups to foreign countries which are not authorized overseas travel destinations. China has designated 10 foreign countries and regions as overseas tour destinations, including Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Three travel companies, including Sichuan China Youth Travel Service, advertised prices lower than the cost of the trip, in direction violation of existing laws. To make up for the loss, some spots in tour itineraries were cancelled and tourists were pressured to go shopping in foreign countries. The travel agencies all violated the responsibility document signed between the administration and China's 65 travel services that have concessionary rights to run overseas tours. The document forbids the agencies to advertise prices lower than actual costs and cheat consumers. It also forbids organizing tours to places running erotic businesses and pressuring tourists to go shopping. Some foreign travel agencies and people have been discovered operating overseas tour services in China, which is detrimental to the nation's travel market, according to the administration. The administration has informed its local branches to clean up the overseas tourism market to prepare for the Spring Festival travel boom. Before the notice was issued, two travel agencies in Southwest China's Yunnan Province had already been forbidden to operate overseas tours by the administration.