New Travel Regulation: "Groups of One Also Depart" to Take Effect in September; Industry Confident

▲The Consumer Protection Committee has released a new standardized travel contract template, offering travelers greater protection when purchasing travel products. (Photo/ Illustration, by reporter Chen Rui-zhong)

Reported by Chen Rui-zhong / Taipei

The Executive Yuan’s Consumer Protection Committee today announced the "Draft Amendment to the Standardized Domestic (and International) Travel Contract Template and Its Required and Prohibited Clauses," revising policies such as no minimum group size, guaranteed departure, and prohibition on additional shopping stops. Travel agency operators also noted that many of these measures are already in practice, so the impact will not be significant.

This draft amendment to the standardized domestic (and international) travel contract template and its required and prohibited clauses includes five key points. Implementation is scheduled to begin in mid-September.
1. Travel agencies offering plans such as "no minimum group size" or "guaranteed departure" must proceed with departure even if only one person signs up and cannot refuse.

2. The compensation tiers have been revised from the original five to six levels. In addition to the existing rule that "notifying cancellation 31 days or more before departure results in a 10% refund of the travel cost," a new clause has been added: "notifying cancellation 41 days or more before departure results in a 5% refund." The regulations for international group travel contracts have also been updated accordingly.

3. If, before departure, unforeseeable and uncontrollable events such as volcanic eruptions, blizzards, or major earthquakes occur in the travel destination, making departure impossible and leading to contract termination, the travel agency must present receipts for any fees already paid or necessary expenses already incurred. After verification, these amounts can be deducted from the travel fee, and the remaining balance will be refunded to the traveler.

4. During the trip, if issues arise due to the travel agency’s fault—such as the accommodation or dining standards or quality not matching the original itinerary—the traveler may request the agency to compensate with double the price difference for each affected item. The agency must also explain how the difference was calculated. If no explanation is provided, the penalty should be at least 5% of the total travel cost.

5. Unless requested or agreed to by the traveler, travel agencies may not arrange impromptu shopping stops. If a traveler purchases items at an agency-arranged location and finds them to be of poor quality or defective, the agency must assist in resolving the issue and may not refuse.

▲The new version of the standardized travel contract template provides more detailed regulations regarding travel itineraries and related compensation.

Spokesperson, Cola ToursLee Chi-popointed out that for medium and large travel agencies, many aspects of this policy are already in place, though implementation varies by company. By clearly stipulating these new rules, consumers will enjoy greater protection. Lee Chi-po stated that adjusting the cancellation compensation levels from the current five to six tiers actually has minimal impact on travel agencies. This is because if a customer cancels due to bereavement, serious illness, or receiving military orders, Cola Tours generally considers humanitarian factors and rarely enforces compensation as per the contract. Moreover, rules such as no arbitrary addition of shopping stops, compensation for hotel downgrades, and guaranteed departure are already being implemented according to existing regulations.

Spokesperson, Lion TravelYu Kuo-chenstated that regulations for compensating travelers have been in place previously, and this update mostly reiterates or amends those existing rules. These include compensation tiers for cancellations by either travel agencies or travelers, or compensation for discrepancies between the actual itinerary and the published schedule—both of which have historically been common sources of disputes between consumers and agencies. With clearer and more detailed regulations now in place, both parties can resolve issues according to the law, which is a positive step for both law-abiding agencies and travelers.