Tourists warned to beware forced shopping stops

As the October 1 National Day holiday approaches, the Beijing Consumer Association (BCA) has issued a warning to tourists to be cautious about sharp practices in the tourism industry, including forced shopping stops, and has advised consumers to take photographic evidence of any such instances.

As complaints about the travel industry always rise after the week-long October holiday, BCA issues an advisory every year for travelers to Beijing to be on guard against shopping fraud, illegal travel agencies and tour guides, the association said Tuesday.

"More people come to Beijing during the holiday, especially this year when the Mid-Autumn Festival connects with the National Day holiday, so both Chinese and foreign tourists should choose legal travel agencies and be cautious about the shopping during the trip," a BCA media officer, surnamed Li, told the Global Times.

The most common complaints include too many shopping stops, promised services which are not provided, and illegal travel agencies and guides.

Li said tourists should pay particular attention to cheap tour packages. When paying for the trip, the agency must provide an invoice and tourists must check whether the agency has bought travel insurance.

"Due to the language barrier, some foreigners may find difficulties in communicating with the travel agency or the store, so we suggest they can call our hotline, 96315, to make a complaint and we will conduct mediation according to their requests," Li noted.

However, the Global Times found Tuesday that it could not get through to the hotline after several attempts, and there is no English service.

According to BCA, a Beijing resident surnamed Li claimed he bought fake jade on a tour, but when complained to the association, his only evidence was an invalid receipt without a stamp, so nothing could be done to help him.

Simon Gjeroe, owner of Beijing Postcards, told the Global Times that he was formerly a tour guide in Beijing, so he knows of a lot of scams targeting tourists, such as rickshaws which charge a high price near the Forbidden City, and illegal taxis at the airport.

"I won't tour with a travel agency, but I always came across some cheaters when I traveled in China. The shops always charge more when a foreigner comes," he said.

He also said that forced shopping is normal in China, so authorities should crack down on this abuse.

A tourism draft law, submitted to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress for approval in August, stipulates seven punishments for forced shopping. If travel agencies force tourists to buy goods, they will face a penalty of up to 200,000 yuan ($31,746), the Beijing News reported.

Beijing-based China Ocean International Travel Service company admitted that they do organize shopping stops for tour groups.

"If you want, I can recommend some travel groups for you in which you can just travel without shopping, but the price might be higher," said a member of the customer service staff. Police at Beijing Capital International Airport have started to clamp down on illegal taxis since August and more than 20 people have been arrested for disturbing the public order, according to news portal qianlong.com.

On September 7, two people tried to send a foreign tourist to the airport Hilton Hotel, charging 100 yuan for a two-kilometer journey, the report said.

"Foreigners should pay more attention to illegal taxis. Although sometimes it's not easy to get a taxi, especially when the National Day holiday comes, foreigners had better choose legal cabs," said Liu Li, the media officer of the airport public security bureau.

The criminal investigation department of the airport police revealed that due to the Diaoyu Islands dispute, Japanese tourists should pay more attention to their belongings.

"We found a group of people who only targeted Japanese people. Several Japanese tourists reported they lost purses in the airport," said Diao Li, the department's media officer on Tuesday.