Beware of the Eight Traps of Spring Festival Tour

The Spring Festival is approaching, and the Golden Week travel advertisements are overwhelming. However, the introduction of various quality groups, luxury groups and pure play groups can not help but dazzle tourists. The reporter's investigation found that there are hidden traps behind many attractive trips. Wu Jingmin, a famous Shenzhen tour guide who wrote "Tell me how not to kill you", was interviewed by a reporter and once again exposed the eight traps of tourism.

Trap one

Accommodation stars are most afraid of the word "quasi".

The "quasi-Samsung" promised by a travel company in its advertisement and contract is actually "no star", which is much worse than Samsung, and its location is particularly far from the urban area.

Wu Jingmin: "Quasi-star" steals the column.

Wu Jingmin told reporters that the idea of staying in a three-star hotel or the same level is full of variables, and things happen from time to time. The most common word is "quasi", the so-called "quasi-three-star", according to the jargon, is designed and decorated according to the three-star standard, but no three-star hotel has been evaluated.

Reporter's investigation: if the room is not up to standard, you can claim compensation.

The reporter found from the itineraries of some regular tour groups launched by various travel agencies in Beijing that almost all regular tour groups with mid-range prices will stipulate "staying in Samsung or hotels at the same level". Such hotels are either located in the suburbs or are old-fashioned, and the price is definitely much cheaper than the real "Samsung". Many tourists often ignore this point when signing up, and it is too late to find out the problem when they check in. Almost all tourists will get a vague answer when consulting with travel agencies, that is, they can't guarantee to stay in a star-rated hotel. In other words, the so-called "Samsung" is just an advertising gimmick of the travel agency, with the purpose of attracting tourists and making profits. For deceived tourists, you can complain directly to the quality supervision department of the Tourism Bureau. The "Travel Agency Quality Guarantee System" promulgated by the National Tourism Administration clearly stipulates that "if the arranged hotel is lower than the grade agreed in the contract, the travel agency will refund the difference between the hotel fee paid by the tourists and the actual room rate, and compensate the liquidated damages of 20% of the difference".

Trap 2

Luxury groups also have fixed-point shopping

The itinerary of a Hong Kong and Macao luxury quality group of a travel agency reads: "Visit the jewelry factory, learn about the manufacturing technology of jewelry and gold, and then experience the charm of gold personally, and go shopping in famous shops such as DFS Harbour City on Guangdong Road."

Wu Jingmin: Famous stores only buy kickbacks.

Euphemistically called "feel the charm of gold", in fact, all the visits are at designated shopping points, and each shopping point will have a rebate. From the perspective of sightseeing, there is no need to visit jewelry, gold manufacturing and other projects during the trip. The reason why travel agencies do this is to get kickbacks. In addition, the agreement between these shopping stores and travel agencies may be that tourists can get kickbacks as long as they enter the store. "Although this group is not mandatory, the tour guide will embarrass you if you don't buy anything. Whether you buy it or not, the head fee is quite high. " Wu Jingmin is not optimistic about this group.

Reporter's survey: 7-day boutique tour, 2 days shopping

The five-day luxury quality group of Hong Kong and Macao launched by China Travel Service in June 5438+ 10 quoted 3980 yuan. His itinerary clearly mentioned four guarantees: "no compulsory shopping, no self-payment, no age discrimination and no professional prejudice". However, on the second day's trip, I wrote, "While visiting the jewelry factory to learn about the jewelry and gold manufacturing process, I personally felt the charm of gold and went shopping in famous shops such as DFS Harbour City on Guangdong Road." When the reporter consulted as a tourist, a staff member of Hong Kong China Travel Service said that although shopping is not compulsory, tourists must go to the designated shopping spot to have a look, and what is "no charge" is also faltering and unclear. In the 7-day boutique tour of Thailand launched by CYTS, the reporter found that the 7-day tour had two days to visit the jewelry center, the Bird's Nest center and the leather exhibition center. According to industry insiders, although there are no shopping regulations in the itinerary, tourists are taken to these places to promote products and guide tourists to shop.

Trap three

"Free travel" is not free.

Mr. Li's scheduled trip in Sabah, a Chinese travel network, is to transfer from Beijing to Sabah via Kuala Lumpur. Although it is called free travel, Mr. Li has to wait at Kuala Lumpur airport for nearly 9 hours, and the hotel stay in the two places must be more than 8 days, and the whole trip must be more than 10 days, which is completely contrary to the "4-to 14-day flexible trip" mentioned by CTS.

Wu Jingmin: Prolonging hotel stay in exchange for low room rate.

In order to reduce the quotation, the travel society tries its best to reduce the cost. For example, when they negotiate prices with local hotels, only by ensuring that tourists stay for more than 3 days can they get preferential prices and make profits. In fact, this kind of quotation will bring many problems, such as allowing tourists to stay at the airport for one night and saving room expenses; How many days must a hotel stay to get a low price and so on. The so-called free travel has actually changed its essence.

Reporter's survey: 4 days free travel, before going home 10 days.

The reporter found that the time from Beijing to Kuala Lumpur was 22: 40 that day, and the earliest connecting flight to Sabah was 7: 15. However, due to the provisions in the route, "you can only choose to stay in Kuala Lumpur once on the way or return." In order to stop in Kuala Lumpur on his way back, Mr. Li had to wait at the airport for nearly nine hours. In terms of hotel check-in, if you choose to leave Beijing for Kuala Lumpur on February 25th and arrive in Sabah on 26th, then the earliest time to return to Beijing via Kuala Lumpur is March 6th, which means that the whole trip must exceed 10 day, which is totally contrary to the "4 to 14 day, which can be long or short" mentioned by CTS. At present, free travel products are increasingly favored by tourists, but many free travel products also have hidden mysteries. Visitors must be clear about the specific flight time, hotel check-in time, check-out time and price difference when booking. Industry insiders told reporters that once a tourist signs a contract, it is difficult to find a travel agency to claim compensation, because all the regulations are considered to be known by tourists before the trip begins.

Trap four

Low "starting price" costs more.

Hainan 6-day tour group said in the advertisement that the tour fee per person was 3480 yuan. Tourists consulted the travel agency, and the tour fee became 4,400 yuan per person, up nearly 1 1,000 yuan. It turns out that the price in the advertisement is the quotation after the Spring Festival.

Wu Jingmin: Low-priced advertisements are just to confuse tourists.

In the advertisement, in fact, only a part of the package price was quoted, and visitors had to pay another fee to leave the package. This kind of deliberate concealment is more common in malicious low-priced advertisements. Even some free travel products will use this trick to confuse tourists in disguise.

Reporter's investigation: it takes 1 ten thousand yuan to quote 5000 lines.

Advertising is all hype, but when you sign up, you are told that you need to participate in a certain number of self-funded projects or pay extra tips. Mr. Li, a tourist, booked the free travel products in Sabah after the Spring Festival on China Travel Service Online. The price starts from 5260 yuan, but the highest price difference of Sabah hotel reaches 3966 yuan and the lowest price difference is 462 yuan. Calculated, the overall cost is as high as 10,000 yuan. In addition, the reporter's investigation found that the itinerary descriptions of most tourist routes will make it clear that the expenses do not include fuel surcharges and transit fees. It is suggested that tourists must carefully ask for specific quotations before signing up, and don't blindly pursue cheap; Before signing the contract, ask about every link in the itinerary.

Trap five

The quality of eight dishes and one soup is difficult to guarantee.

Most travel contracts clearly stipulate: "Dining: group dining, 10 dinner, 1 table, 8 dishes 1 soup, 5 o'clock breakfast 1 porridge."

Wu Jingmin: Eight dishes, one soup and many vegetarian dishes.

Most travel contracts will guarantee that the whole meal when tourists sign up is eight dishes and one soup. But tourists will find that eight dishes and one soup are true after departure, but besides radish and cabbage, tofu and vegetables are even more difficult to compliment. "There are eight dishes, mainly green vegetables; Tofu is sour and left over overnight; Rice is yellow and brown rice is mixed; Vegetables are rotten and picked up in the market; Fish and shrimp stink, and they are bought only when they are dead; Soup is light, laver and egg flowers; Thin slices of meat, or sick pigs; The restaurant is remote, with bamboo forests in the suburbs; No air conditioning, big fan; The tablecloth is not used, and the desktop is oily. " This limerick is not excessive to some extent.

Reporter's investigation: the price of seafood sold by tour guides has tripled.

The reporter's investigation on Hainan's regular group meal standards launched by some travel agencies found that East Goat, Wenchang Chicken, Cargill Duck, Lehe Crab are all famous in Hainan Island, but the current tour groups basically have no arrangements and can only eat at their own expense. So these chickens, ducks, sheep and crabs have become tools to kill guests. The normal price of a table of ordinary seafood is three or five hundred yuan, but after some tour guides, it becomes 1300 yuan, 1500 yuan. Although the "Quality Assurance System of Travel Agency" stipulates that the quality and price of restaurants arranged by travel agencies do not match due to restaurant reasons, travel agencies should compensate tourists for 20% of their meal expenses. However, obtaining evidence is more troublesome, and many tourists can only forget it.

Trap six

There is a surcharge for the elderly and children.

Many travel contracts stipulate that "the elderly over 60 years old,/kloc-minors under 0/8 years old will be surcharged." "Teachers and journalists should also raise prices." Most products in Hong Kong and Macao have the problem of surcharge. Surcharge has become an illegal "hidden rule of the industry".

Wu Jingmin: Low-priced groups earn back their costs through surcharges.

At present, Hong Kong and Macao delegations below 3,000 yuan basically have surcharges. In this regard, many travel agencies claim that this is a requirement of the Hong Kong Tourism Board, but this is not the case. Some low-priced package tours only cost 1000 yuan, which is not enough for round-trip air tickets. In order to earn back the cost, travel agencies have racked their brains, and in addition to charging surcharges, they will also increase their own expenses. The tour guide service fee and fare of the ground agency are paid from the rebates given by these stores.

Reporter's investigation: Hong Kong has never charged a surcharge.

The reason why travel agencies charge surcharges is mainly because the purchasing power of the general elderly and minors is low, while teachers and journalists are rational shoppers, and their purchasing status will directly affect the amount of rebates that travel agencies get. The reporter learned from the Hong Kong Tourism Board that the Hong Kong Tourism Board has never imposed surcharges on mainland tourists. All surcharges are set by travel agencies themselves, but the Hong Kong Tourism Board has not yet formulated relevant punishment policies.

Trap seven

Free scenic spots, but tickets are charged.

Take Hainan Tour as an example. Most travel agencies list Tianya Haijiao and Nantianyizhu as attractions in their itinerary. In fact, Nantianyizhu is just a scenic spot in Tianya Haijiao Scenic Area.

Wu Jingmin: Free scenic spots become money-making tools.

Many tourists who join the low-cost tour will complain afterwards that travel agencies often play word games in advertisements and contracts in order to reduce costs and earn more profits. If the attractions listed in the itinerary are either free attractions, locations or self-care, the local travel agency you go to basically doesn't need to spend money. On the contrary, a large number of shopping spots and low-grade unknown attractions such as savage valley and Fengqing Village have been added in the actual itinerary.

Reporter's survey: check the scenic spots before signing the contract.

The survey found that the itinerary of most routes will be mixed with free attractions that tourists don't know. In addition, most tourist quotations only include the entrance ticket price of scenic spots, and the tickets for small scenic spots need to be taken care of by tourists. Therefore, tourists should not rush to sign a contract after seeing the rich scenic spots in the advertisement. They might as well check the actual situation of these scenic spots online, so as not to pay for free scenic spots and become a big loser.

Trap eight

Reduce costs by transforming and integrating teams.

Obviously, I signed up for the tour in A travel agency, only to find that the tour guide with the tour group actually came from B travel agency. Some travel agencies even expressly stipulate in their contracts that they can transfer tourists to other groups.

Wu Jingmin: This group must be approved in writing.

Some travel agencies can't form a group because there are too few consumers who sign up for travel. Without the consumers' knowledge, these registered consumers will be transferred to other travel agencies, who will take the tour. According to the relevant laws and regulations and the standard contract of domestic tour groups, if the travel agency needs to transfer passengers to other tour groups due to insufficient number of participants, it must first obtain the written consent of the tourists, otherwise it will bear the penalty of 10% of the total tour fee.

Reporter's investigation: it is difficult to protect the rights and interests of tourists.

In some low-cost tours, joining other travel agencies is very common. When choosing a travel agency, don't be led by the price. Different brands, different services and different routes will have different prices. Some travel agencies often transfer their teams to other travel agencies in order to reduce costs. In this case, tourists are turned around like commodities. In case of problems during the trip, even if you don't know who to look for, the benefits will be even more difficult to guarantee.

Travel stories

Japan's "Unpredictable Journey"

Visit all the free attractions all the way.

During a recent trip to Japan, Miss Zhang firmly remembered a Japanese word "no material", which means free translation into Chinese. Miss Zhang complained that this trip to Japan cost more than 10000 yuan, and the result was free scenic spots and no tickets.

Miss Zhang told reporters that before leaving, she looked at the itinerary provided by the travel agency, what to visit the palace Shuangqiao and Shinjuku Metropolitan Hall; After visiting Sensoji Temple, go to Yokohama for sightseeing: visit Yamashita Park and Zhonghua Street; Overlooking Mount Fuji, the highest peak in Japan, visit Kiyomizu Temple, the outer courtyard of the Peace Shrine, and the Nishi Kimono Museum. I still look forward to the infinite beauty of my trip to Japan.

However, the subsequent reality disappointed her. Miss Zhang told reporters that the first attraction of the tour group to Tokyo was to visit Shuangqiao in the Forbidden City. Only after I went did I know that it was only a 50-meter drive from the emperor's residence, which was nothing at all. A bird's-eye view of the 46th floor platform of Tokyo's Shinjuku Metropolitan Hall was provided by the Tokyo Municipal Government several years ago for citizens and tourists to visit the scenery of Tokyo for free. The so-called visit to Zhonghua Street is just having lunch at a Chinese restaurant on the street. Yamashita Park, an ordinary street park in Japan, is not as big as any street park in Beijing. Mount Fuji, the highest peak in Japan, sits on the bus and overlooks it; Many temples and shrines, including Sensoji Temple, Kiyomizu Temple and Peace Shrine, can enter and leave without any tickets.

The only "material" attraction is Tokyo Disneyland, and the admission fee is 8,500 yen per person. Miss Zhang is still very confused. Since tickets are free, where are the expensive travel agencies used?

South Korea's "shopping tour"

Buying back a mobile phone is more expensive than in China.

Until now, when it comes to this recent trip to South Korea, Miss Wang is still full of anger. From Jeju Island to Seoul, she didn't visit many scenic spots, and she was led by a glib Korean tour guide, Jing Hong.

Miss Wang said that for the first time, in the aboriginal village of Jeju Island, a female tour guide from Dalian put everyone in a hut full of bee products. I closed the door and found a stainless steel basin. I poured some wild honey in it, poured clear water and kept shaking it. After about three minutes, I skimmed the clear water and saw the honey at the bottom of the basin in a honeycomb pattern. The female tour guide said in the sales promotion that "a lot of honey in China is fake, and some even medicinal honey is fake, all of which are syrup mixed with pigments and spices!" Our wild honey here is made by local people in traditional ways. Why else would there be such a beautiful honeycomb pattern? "This can of honey is worth 350 million won, about 300 yuan.

In Seoul, as soon as everyone took some commemorative photos in front of the Presidential Palace and the "Gyeongbokgung Palace" of the National Palace Museum of North Korea, they were taken by the tour guide to a Korean ginseng product store, and all the products were marked with US dollar prices. More than 280 yuan a box of Korean ginseng shocked everyone again.

Subsequently, Hong Dao led Miss Wang and her party to continue to the duty-free shop to buy the genuine Samsung mobile phone that "everyone wants most". The duty-free shop has a business area of more than 20 square meters, and the goods are marked in Chinese, and the price is US dollars. Some tourists who couldn't resist the temptation began to buy mobile phones by swiping their cards. As a result, after returning to China, I found that the price of mobile phones was several hundred yuan more expensive than that in China.