Foreign tour prices to rise under new regulations

Travel agencies in China will cancel cheap tours that involve additional-fee activities and shopping programs after the launch of the Regulations on Travel Agencies on May 1, China Central Television reports.

The new regulations strictly prohibit "zero or negative group fees" and no travel agency may solicit tourists at a quotation lower than the travel cost. Any travel agency found misleading or coercing tourists to go on shopping trips or participate in tour items that need extra payment will face a heavy fine ranging from 100,000 yuan to 500,000 yuan. The tour guide and the team leader of the tour group will also receive an individual fine of between 10,000 yuan and 50,000 yuan. If the circumstances are especially serious, the travel agency, the tour guide and the team leader will have their business license and certificates revoked.

As of May 1, the regulations rule, all travel contracts signed between travel agencies and tourists must stipulate explicitly the tour items that need extra payment, the number of shopping visits, the length of the visit, and the name of the shopping places.

The regulations will lead to a significant price rise in outbound tours and regular tours that used to attract customers through extremely low prices, said some large travel agencies in China.

Tours to Southeast Asia, Oceania and Europe will be affected most. Of these, regular tours to Southeast Asia are expected to see the highest price rises. For instance, after May 1, the price of Thailand tours will climb to 3,000 yuan, up 50 percent against current tours available at 2,000 yuan. Regular tours to Europe and America will also increase by several hundreds of yuan.

"Prices of outbound tours will grow by 10 to 30 percent on the whole," said Fu Zheng, manager of Beijing Sunshine Glory International Travel Services. After the price rise, Fu said, his company would add a note to all travel programs, promising customers that no extra payment would be asked for future trips.

The price rise would protect the interests of travel agencies and local guides, and would improve the tour quality for customers, said a representative of the consumers' association.

According to some tourists, as long as they know what they are paying for and enjoy the pleasure their money brings, they are willing to change consumption structure and pay a higher price for their trip.