Administration orders probe over tour guide

The China National Tourism Administration sent a notice on Monday urging the Heilongjiang Provincial Tourism Development Committee to take up an investigation regarding tour guides who allegedly forced tourists to buy a ticket package during a trip to China’s Snow Town, a popular attraction in the province.

It comes after an undercover recording and video footage emerged online recently that showed different tour guides asking tourists to buy ticket packages before they arrived at the destination.

According to recorded audio, a male tour guide asked the tourists to buy a tourist item valued at 800 yuan ($124). After a female tourist refused, he abused and slapped her. In addition, he examined the tourists’ cellphones without their permission to prevent them from recording.

Tourists in the group had paid 288 yuan for the trip, which was to include a meal, lodging and transportation.

In another video, a female tour guide appears to force the tourists to buy a ticket package valued at 1,680 yuan, including several items that most tourists had shown little interest in purchasing.

When some tourists refused to do so, the tour guide began to threaten them that they would have to bear the extreme cold outside while the others enjoyed the tourist items in the attractions.

The female tour guide, surnamed Shang, is a member of the Harbin Kanghua International Travel Agency, according to the preliminary investigation by the Heilongjiang Provincial Tourism Development Committee.

The committee also said they would give serious punishment to the staff and companies involved if all the findings are confirmed.