The mobile version of the 12301 National Tourism Complaint Platform is now available

Thread Content

With the National Day holiday in 2016 approaching, the **Tourism Bureau issued a service warning on September 27 regarding tourism-related expenditures during the holiday. Before this National Day period, a mobile version of the 12301 national tourism complaint platform was launched, allowing tourists to file complaints directly from their phones in case their rights were violated during the holiday. According to the person in charge of the relevant department at the **Tourism Bureau, both the PC version and mobile version of the 12301 National Tourism Complaints and Reports Platform were officially launched before the National Day holiday. Tourists who experience violations of their rights during this holiday can also file complaints directly using their mobile phones. It is stated that the 12301 platform serves as a unified system for tourism quality supervision and law enforcement officers at all levels to receive and handle tourism complaints. When a complaint occurs, the information about it is transmitted promptly to the local tourism quality supervision and law enforcement agencies. Meanwhile, the provincial (regional/municipal) quality supervision and law enforcement agencies can supervise key complaint cases as needed, while agencies at all levels can keep track of and monitor the progress and status of complaint handling in real time. The reporter learned from the **Tourism Bureau that, based on the complaints filed by tourists that have been received by the bureau’s Quality Supervision and Management Department recently, these complaints mainly concern travel agencies and tour guides, online travel companies, and tourist attractions – accounting for 50.6%, 21.4%, and 19.8% of the total complaints respectively. The main issues reported include travel agencies altering itineraries without consent, adding or removing tour activities, and lowering service standards in violation of contractual agreements; problems with the quality of tour guide services; forced or indirect pressure to make purchases; and issues related to the management of tourist attractions. In this regard, the **Tourism Bureau has issued warnings regarding tourism services during the National Day holiday, reminding travelers to be sure to sign proper travel contracts. When traveling as part of a tour group, be sure to enter into a written and formal tour contract with the travel agency, and request that a proper receipt be issued by the agency at the time of payment. To deposit a guarantee fund for outbound travel, bank custody should be chosen to ensure the safety of the funds. **The tourism board advises travelers to choose between group tours and self-guided tours based on their actual circumstances, and to avoid rushing into cheap tour packages in an attempt to save money. **The Tourism Bureau, in conjunction with local tourism authorities, will also dispatch relevant staff during the National Day holiday to conduct both open and secret inspections of the operation of the tourism industry. Issues such as travel agencies that fail to fulfill their contracts despite numerous customer complaints, tour guides forcing tourists to make purchases, and adding extra services at the tourists’ expense in violation of contracts will be subject to legal penalties once verified.