How many schemes are there behind the low-priced tours?
With the increasing popularity of self-help outdoor tourism, outdoor clubs, travel clubs, on the road travel clubs and so on. Frequently through the WeChat group or QQ group illegal release of tourism products, publicize tourism routes, receive the public or travel friends to travel.
According to the relevant provisions of the Tourism Law, it is illegal for non-tourism enterprises and individuals to organize tourism activities on their own.
To completely eradicate the low-priced tours of mandatory consumption mess, we must rely on the law, increase penalties, increase the cost of violation of the law and the benefits of rights.
The reporter Zhao Li
"Since you chose a tour with shopping links, you need to consume. What kind of attitude did you have towards me in the store today? Everyone is in there fighting a guerrilla war! Now get out of the car and go to the store and spend 20,000 dollars an hour," said a Guilin female tour guide.
The female guide took a tour organized by a beauty brand. According to the tourists, "to the travel agency to send 598 yuan of product giveaways", you can go to Guilin from Hunan for free. The last day of the trip, because the jade store consumption is too high, the tourists did not reach the guide's "psychological expectations", so the scene above.
After the forced consumption incident came to light, the "low-priced tours" once again attracted attention.
With the increasing popularity of self-help outdoor tourism, outdoor clubs, donkey clubs, travel clubs on the road, health care sales enterprises, some training institutions to violate the release of tourism products, publicity tourism routes, reception of the public or donkeys travel phenomenon is common. According to the relevant provisions of the Tourism Law, it is illegal for non-tourism enterprises and individuals to organize tourism activities on their own. However, according to the relevant departments disclosed that many tourism activities to "low-priced tours" or even "zero tour fee" to attract consumers to participate in the tour.
055-79000The reporter found that many low-priced tours hide a lot of tricks through unannounced visits to such organizations that do not have the qualification of tourism but operate travel agency business.
Claiming to be unprofitable.
In fact, the hidden consumption
Recently, the reporter found a large number of related organizations QQ group through online search. The group name format is simple and consistent: outdoor club. The reporter tried to outdoor sports enthusiasts identity to apply for membership in these outdoor clubs QQ group, but the pass rate is extremely low. A lot of applications to join the group issued after the "stone sinks into the sea". Some organizations directly rejected the reporter's application to join the group. For example, "XX Landscape Outdoor Club" in the reporter repeatedly applied to join the group, to "not group acquaintances introduced, can not enter the group" as the reason for the refusal.
After several attempts, the reporter finally entered the individual group chat as an ordinary tourist. However, after joining the group, the relevant person in charge of these organizations will know the information of the new group users, such as "who introduced them", "where they came from", "what activities they have participated in before".
At present, there are 1,436 people in the QQ group of "Beijing XX Outdoor Club", which is advertised as "an outdoor club for adventure travel with the theme of mountain climbing, hiking, camping, horseback riding in the grassland, desert traversing, forest exploration, swimming in the sea, photography, skiing, gourmet food, singing, and making friends". ". The outdoor activities of this club are rich and varied, most of them are short, generally divided into one-day activities and two-day activities. Prices for short-term activities are generally low, with many one-day activities costing less than 100 yuan and some two-day activities around 300 yuan. Take Kingfisher Valley (located in Yanqing, Beijing) as an example of a one-day tour. The activity costs 65 yuan per person, including cab fare
Two years ago, Ms. Wang, a Beijing resident, was pulled into an outdoor tour group, which posted many low-priced travel routes. "The person who organized the tours said he didn't make money by organizing people to go out and play." But Ms. Wang found that they "didn't make much money."
She once took a trip to Zhangjiakou that cost her less than 300 yuan, but the hidden costs began as soon as she got on the bus. The organizers charged each tourist 50 yuan for hard work, and after the meal each tourist had to pay 10 yuan for tea.
"There is no formal contract, and payment is made through WeChat transfers or punching cards, so such tours are too informal." Ms. Wang said.
There are also industry insiders who told reporters that some outdoor clubs tend to solicit travelers under the banner of non-profit, and the relevant staff of the clubs profit from the price difference. Because outdoor clubs do not need to pay deposits, taxes and so on. Like travel agencies, outdoor clubs operate at almost "zero cost".
The reporter interviewed Mr. Zhang, a staff member at one of the attractions who is responsible for hosting these clubs. He said, "The profits of the related expenses can be divided into 40% and 60% with the organizers, and the general travel agencies or leaders get more commission."
The promoter declared he was not responsible.
Tourists face greater risks.
Another QQ group, "Beijing Buddies", was founded on October 23, 2015, according to information. Currently, it has 2,862 members and has organized 44 events. The organizer is "Beijing Wolf Outdoor". The destinations are as close as Shuanglongxia, Pofengling and Dongling Mountain on the outskirts of Beijing, and as far away as Wuyuan, Dunhuang and Mohe.
Beijing Wolf Outdoor's official website shows that it is an organization that "focuses on the tent rental industry in Beijing (Tianjin)", and its business scope mainly includes outdoor products such as Beijing (Tianjin) camping tent rentals, cotton sleeping bags, down sleeping bags, walkie-talkies and mountaineering bags.
Beijing Wolf Outdoor's official web page is also set up "donkey activities" column, open this page, showing the organization from June 6, 2008 to October 24, 2008 released 70 related travel information. The reporter clicked on a few links, most of them are travel routes, itinerary planning, cost range and other related information. Occasionally, a "disclaimer" is attached to the introduction. Disclaimer: The promoter of the activity is only the contact person for the activity, may not have participated in the outdoor leader training and field rescue. Although they are obliged to help every participant in the activity, the activity promoter and leader are not responsible for any damage or consequences caused by participating in the activity. -Voluntary enrollment at your own risk.
This disclaimer can also be found in the activity details of the "Beijing LvYou XXX" QQ group.
The reporter found that Shanks Outdoor Club has also organized many outdoor travel activities. A June 13 tweet from the official WeChat microblogging account showed that the price of the 7-day tour was around 3,000 yuan per person. The tour includes popular tourist attractions such as Aju Tibetan Village, Hailuogou Glacier, Dacheng Yading, and Four Girls Mountains. The cost includes transportation (driver room and board), accommodation (7 nights), tickets (Siguniangshan Shuangqiaogou, Jieju Tibetan Village, Aden Scenic Spot, Hailuogou), meals (Danba breakfast), tour guide service, insurance. At the same time, it is declared that this line is only for team members to buy travel accident insurance, excluding disease insurance and property insurance. Activities, such as financial losses, by the team members themselves; if the economic loss is caused by personal reasons, need to be left to deal with their own, you should sign a "withdrawal agreement".
Another go on road trip club, Ant go on road trip Club, included a similar clause in its June 14 go on road trip itinerary push. Only a $500,000 personal accident insurance policy is included in the cost of the tour, nothing else.
The leader of the "Beijing XX Club" told reporters that the price offered by the club was "more cost-effective than that of travel agencies" and that it would also give an additional accident insurance. When the reporter asked whether they will sign the relevant responsibility contract, the leader replied, "do not sign a contract, the activities are voluntary."
Free travel has become a new trick.
Forced shopping sets traps
It is worth noting that related disputes are frequent.
In April 2008, Tian, an outdoor travel enthusiast, took the organizer of a WeChat tour with a group to court. The lawsuit originated in the summer of 2016. He and his friends joined the Happy Friends self-help tour WeChat group to go rafting in Dachingu, Inner Mongolia. During the rafting, he accidentally caused an acute compression fracture of the lumbar spine. His claim for compensation from the tour organizer was rejected and he sued the court. The court ruled that the organizer was not for profit and Tian took full responsibility for the injury caused by his sitting.
November 22, 2014, Zhang Bingyu followed the coach of Qingdao Li Qian Sports and Leisure Club Co. Ltd. to Jiuxian Mountain for alpine rappelling training. During the descent, the protective rope was unraveled and Zhang Bingyu fell to her death from a height of about 30 meters from the ground. Yu was an employee of the sports company and the leader of the outreach training. He met Cao with the screen name "" in the outdoor sports group, who was temporarily hired by the company as an outdoor instructor for the event. Both Yu and Cao claimed they had no credentials for downhill activities, according to the ruling.
These kinds of organizations and individuals without travel qualifications often offer a variety of low-priced tours when operating travel agency business.
According to a Beijing resident who did not want to be named, his parents participated in a low-priced tour organized by the "Outdoor Donkey Friends Group" WeChat group. "It's 50 yuan per person for a one-day trip to the Yixing Bamboo Sea. My parents gathered at 6:30 in the morning and came back at 6:00 in the evening with a big bag. Bamboo shoots, bamboo cutting boards, activated charcoal balls, dish towels and so on. Spending hundreds of dollars to buy back a bunch of useless things."
The reporter interviewed Mr. Zhang, a former tour guide. Mr. Zhang said, "In the tourism industry, low-priced tours basically imply consumption content, which is regarded as a default rule in the industry. But if one pays enough money reasonably, there may only be some slight guidance and no forced consumption."
Ma Aiping, a professor at the School of Tourism Management at Beijing's Second Institute of Foreign Languages, believes that the four-day, five-night tour fee is 598 yuan, which is obviously low if you include food, accommodation and transportation, so the tour itinerary includes three shopping projects.
Liu Simin, director of the Tourism Research Institute at the Cultural and Creative Industries Research Center of Beijing Foreign Studies University, believes that there may be many reasons for the lower-than-market price and operating costs, but if the itinerary has obvious shopping arrangements, it can basically be judged to be an unreasonably low-priced tour.
In 2000, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), in conjunction with the public security, industry and commerce, and pricing departments, continued to carry out a number of actions to comprehensively rectify the order of the nation's tourism market, and seriously investigated and dealt with "unreasonably low-priced tours," "illegal operation of travel agencies," and other illegal acts. The authorities have seriously investigated and dealt with "unreasonably low-priced tours" and "illegal operation of travel agency business". *** filed 2,595 cases, confiscated the illegal income of 33.26 million yuan, revoked the business license of 45.
Since then, although some of the problems associated with travel agencies have been curbed and regulated to a certain extent, some organizations and individuals who do not have the qualifications to travel but operate travel agencies have begun to "move". There are also businesses that sell health care products during "zero-fare" tours.
Take Nine Square Pleasure as an example. This company is not qualified to organize tours.
In August 2008, a fire at the Belon Hot Springs and Leisure Hotel in Harbin, Heilongjiang province, killed 20 people and injured 23 others. According to media reports, Jiu Fang Pleasure mainly sells health care products for middle-aged and elderly people, and customers who consume a lot of money can be rewarded with trips by the company.
According to Beijing's relevant departments, many tourism activities use "zero tour fee" as a bait to attract the elderly to join the tours, hiding multiple risks. Law enforcement officials from Beijing's relevant departments said that low-priced tours under the guise of "free tours" and "zero-fare tours" are becoming more and more insidious, and that the elderly are often the "hardest hit" by the scams.
Law enforcement officials, at present, the company organized the "buy health care products to send travel", "buy financial management to send free travel" has become a new pattern of the lawless elements, and even a company to recruit "travel experience division
"WeChat circle of friends, clubs, car clubs