Unlicensed travel agencies removed from search engine

A number of unlicensed travel agencies have been removed from China's largest search engine Baidu for duping tourists on trips to Shanghai.

And officials are asking the Internet giant to further help in their crackdown.

Unscrupulous businesses often use names similar to well-known agencies — such as Shanghai Spring Tour and China CYTS, said the city tourism watchdog.

Tourists searching online for a "one-day tour of Shanghai" could end up with a rogue agency which would take them to shopping areas and charge extra fees.

One "one-day" tour actually lasted two hours, much of which involved watching a demonstration of cutting tools in the Pudong New Area, said the watchdog.

Many illegal travel agencies turned to the Internet after flyer distributors were cleared from the streets by the authorities in recent years, said Gu Jianbin, deputy director of the Shanghai Tourism Administration's market management department.

This has made it more difficult to crack down on them, added Gu.

Many domain names are not registered in Shanghai, and if one site is closed the agencies can change to another domain name easily, said the official.

The sites of more than 10 illegal agencies have been closed, said Gu.

The authorities will talk with big search engines like Baidu, asking them to bear social responsibility and help regulate the tourism market, added the official.