Chinese Travel Agency Says No to Shopping Commissions

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, December 20, 2001

Chinese Travel Agency Says No to Shopping Commissions

A Shanghai-based travel agency has pledged that it will stop unnecessary shopping commissions. It has been a practice of some tour guides in China to skip scheduled tour highlights in order to take tour groups to the "commission shops." Numerous complaints from tourists have brought shame to some Chinese travel agencies.

A shanghai-based travel agency promised to stop getting commissions

A Shanghai-based travel agency has pledged that it will stop unnecessary shopping excursions aimed at getting fat -- and illegal -- commissions for tour guides and drivers.

Wang Zhenghua, general manager of Shanghai Chunqiu Travel Agency, said that the agency will pay higher salaries to tour guides and drivers to curb the temptation to take unwitting tourists to shops whose owners offer high commissions in return.

If tourists want to go shopping on their own, tour guides should recommend local shops with high-quality, reasonably priced goods, Wang said.

If a van or bus owned by the agency is spotted in the parking lot of any shop known for offering commissions, the tour guide and driver on duty will be punished, he said.

Local agencies expected to improve their service quality and build up a new image

It has been a practice of some tour guides in China to skip scheduled tour highlights in order to take tour groups to the "commission shops." Numerous complaints from tourists have brought shame to some Chinese travel agencies.

With China's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), the influx of foreign travel agencies will greatly challenge their Chinese counterparts. Therefore, Wang said, local tourism agencies should work fast to improve their service quality and revamp their image.

Law Sought to Foster Growing Tourist Industry

China's top tourism administration has urged the acceleration of the legislation process to deal with problems in the expanding holiday industry to guarantee its further development.

"A comprehensive law is urgently needed to change the legal relationship in the industry that is more complicated than before," said Zhang Shumin, a National Tourism Administration official in charge of policy and laws.

The official also noted that as the definition of the tourism industry has not been clarified by law, China could not fully meet the requirements of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in this regard.

Tourism legislation is needed to ensure the development of the industry and build on all legislation and experiences at a local level.

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