China will regulate the tourism market by clamping down on unreasonably cheap trips, according to a senior official at the China National Tourism Administration.

 

According to the administration, by 8 pm on Sunday, provincial-level tourism authorities had received 800 complaints from tourists, with 30 percent of them about scenic spots and 28 percent related to travel agencies.

 

The majority of the complaints came from popular tourism destinations, including Yunnan, Jiangsu, Henan and Zhejiang provinces, and Beijing and Chongqing.

 

One case involved a tour guide from Yunnan who was accused of abusing tourists for not spending enough money.

 

The guide's license was later revoked and she was banned from the tourism business for life. The travel agency that hired the guide was suspended from business for six months and fined 50,000 CNY (8,330 USD).

 

Zhang Guangrui, honorary director of the Tourism Research Center at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that more complaints from tourists are a good thing for the market from a certain perspective.

 

In the past, many tourists chose to remain silent because they didn't have clear views about protecting their rights and were uncertain whether their complaints would be attended to.

 

Now tourists care more about their rights, and complaints to tourism authorities will help governments and the industry to improve service.

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