Oversight of tourism market strengthened
Measures are in place to prevent irregularities in the tourism market during the Spring Festival travel boom, but more work is needed, according to a senior official of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
The official, Wang Xiaofeng, told a news conference on Wednesday that no violations had been found in the random inspections that the ministry carried out recently.
But its work on market supervision, the delivery of tourism-related information and public services still needs improvement.
“Any improper management, such as employing unlicensed tour guides or drivers, fraudulent lowpriced tour packages or forced consumption, will be investigated,” he says.
“Supervision of venues offering entertainment, including computer games and profit-making shows, will be further strengthened during the break.”
He adds that online and telephone channels for reporting problems will be available during the festival to help secure travelers’ rights and ensure order in the tourism market.
In addition to increasing supervision, the ministry is enriching activities and products available to travelers during the Spring Festival holiday.
Zhang Jilin, deputy chief of the ministry’s resource development department, says that cultural events, such as traditional temple fairs, song-and-dance shows and lantern festivals, will be staged.
“More diverse tour products are also ready to attract travelers,” he says.
“Besides the popular destinations, such as the northeastern provinces that are famous for snowy scenery and the warm climate of China’s southern region, such provinces as Fujian and Guizhou are also launching activities to attract travelers.”
Wang says that travelers are encouraged to behave properly when visiting domestic or overseas destinations during the seven-day break.
The ministry also posted a state- ment on its website, urging Chinese tourists to abide by local laws and regulations, to respect local traditions and religions, and to avoid such inappropriate behavior as littering, smoking and talking loudly in public areas.
“We did a survey about overseas travel destinations last year, focusing on what foreign hosts think about Chinese travelers’ behavior. The survey found that 62.5 percent of interviewees welcomed Chinese travelers warmly because of their civilized behavior, up 4.5 percentage points over 2016,” Wang says.
The Spring Festival holiday, from Feb 4 to 10, is recognized as a Golden Week for tourism.
Tourists from the Chinese mainland are expected to make over 400 million trips during the period, including an estimated 7 million trips to outbound destinations, travel agencies say.