Forced shopping during travel?! Tourists threatened with being kicked off the bus for not buying jade? Guiyang Culture and Tourism Bureau: We’ll investigate thoroughly!!

According to videos shared by netizens, a tour guide said to passengers on the bus: "I was exhausted yesterday, but as soon as it comes to spending money, you all start arguing with me. What’s the point of this? Why are you doing this?"

When the guide noticed a tourist filming, they demanded the video be deleted, or else they wouldn’t continue the trip.Later, the tourist said the tour guide had the driver stop the bus at the service area for an hour and told the tourists either to pay extra for the tour or each had to make purchases in the shops; otherwise, they would be left behind.

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After the video was released, it caused quite a reaction. The Guiyang Culture and Tourism Bureau’s official Weibo account issued a statement on the 29th saying it is investigating the matter and will thoroughly look into any behavior disrupting the tourism market order.

Commenters with similar experiences spoke up: “They trapped you in three shopping stops for two to three hours if you didn’t buy anything. When everyone refused to buy and just stayed in the bus with the doors closed, they claimed the driver and staff were working hard and demanded a tea fee. They wouldn’t drive unless we paid.””“Basically, the whole morning is spent at shopping stops. If you don’t buy anything, the tour guide discriminates by region, calls you out by name, gives you attitude, and makes sly remarks.The issue of forced shopping on low-cost tour groups is not a recent phenomenon. It has only come to light as video apps have become popular and ordinary consumers have developed a stronger awareness of their rights, learning to report issues online.Previously in March, media reported that a tour guide in Haikou City sold travel products on the bus and treated tourists poorly when they did not make purchases.The tour guide involved was subsequently given the maximum fine and had their tour guide license revoked, and the travel agency involved was also fined 300,000 yuan.

Some netizens believe that the root cause of the persistent issues with consumption-based tour groups lies in tourism laws.“Reform tourism laws to prohibit any form of shopping during group tours, eliminate shopping tours at the source, increase group tour fees, and prevent tourism from becoming a game between travel agencies, guides, and tourists."

At the same time, some netizens speculated that the tour group in the video might be a low-cost group, and shopping by tourists is one of the main sources of income for such groups.“Low-cost tour guides take the job at a loss and have to make it back from tourists, so can’t you regulate low-cost tours?” “Because the group fees are so low, below cost, they have to make money by selling things, which leads to the conflict over whether to buy or not.”

Some netizens also pointed out that low-cost tour groups are not inherently unacceptable, but the prerequisite must be that shopping stops are clearly and transparently communicated to consumers in advance.“If it’s really a low-cost tour group, they should clearly state how many shopping stops there are—no extortion.”""If shopping is really necessary, a list of shopping stops can be provided, clearly written and priced, so those willing to join such tours can accept it.”

If such news is not an isolated case, then the contradictions involved are not just between tour guides and tourists. Tour guides may also be “victims” in another sense.Therefore, some netizens have suggested improving tour guides’ welfare: “Many tour guides have very low base salaries and rely mostly on commissions from persuading tourists to buy things, which is why conflicts keep arising.”“Because professional guides earn too little, relying mostly on commissions, they are unwilling to work if the earnings from a single trip do not match the commission."

In fact, many local culture and tourism departments have issued market alerts, all emphasizing the need to crack down severely on "unreasonably low-price tours" and reminding tourists to beware of travel promotions baited with "ultra-low prices," avoiding the consumption traps of "unreasonably low-price tours."At present, creating a clean environment in the tourism industry still requires relentless efforts from the government, the industry, and consumers.