Investigating the travel company's ban on journalists, lawyers... from buying tours

Summer is peak tourist season in China, and people often opt for cheap group tours. However, it has recently emerged that some travel agencies in Yunnan Province, southwest China, are not welcoming journalists on group tours.

Known for its diverse culture and landscapes, Yunnan is also known for its low-cost tours, where customers are pressured to buy souvenirs from local shops. Following a public backlash, tour companies are imposing restrictions on journalists to reduce the chance of their dubious business practices being exposed.

Tourists at Dukezong ancient city in Shangri-La, Yunnan province

Posing as a customer, a Sixth Tone reporter confirmed that some travel companies in Yunnan have such restrictions on journalists.

“To be honest, we are afraid of serving journalists,” said a customer service staff at China International Travel Agency in the provincial capital Kunming. “We are afraid of being exposed if we do not serve our customers well during the trip.”

The representative said it was likely that journalists would find something bad to report on the tours, especially during the busy summer season. A customer service manager at the company told the media that they also banned lawyers and other “sensitive professionals” from purchasing the tours.

However, China International Tourism later publicly denied refusing to provide services to journalists and lawyers.

Most travel agencies in China offer low-cost tours that include mandatory visits to local shops, earning a commission on any purchases made there. China International Travel lists a six-day package tour to Yunnan that includes visits to local silver shops and a medicinal spirulina distribution center for 1,380 yuan ($190) per person, while the same tour without visits to these shops costs 2,160 yuan per person.

The company suggested that journalists choose a more expensive option or travel on their own. Another case, Kunming Comfort Travel Service, also told Sixth Tone that journalists should travel alone.

Videos circulating online in recent weeks show Yunnan tour guides insulting customers who refuse to make purchases or sleeping on tour buses instead of entering stores.

Zhang Weiping, a lawyer at Guangdong Pingwei Law Firm, said China's Tourism Law and Consumer Rights and Interests Protection Law do not allow discrimination against consumers based on occupation.

Yunnan Province's Department of Culture and Tourism said it is investigating the incident.

Source link: https://thanhnien.vn/chuyen-la-cong-ty-du-lich-cam-nha-bao-luat-su-mua-tour-185230726113659452.htm