Chinese lawmakers hear report on enforcement of tourism law

BEIJING -- Regulation of the tourism industry has made good progress since a law was passed more than a year ago, according to a report put forward during the start of China's bimonthly lawmaking session.

Since a tourism law took effect on Oct 1, 2013, market order has improved, service levels have increased, the market has expanded and the industry has further developed, according to the report.

The visual report was based on inspections by the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee in September. It was presented to China's top legislature during the bimonthly session, which will last from Monday to Sunday.

The tourism law aims to regulate the market and improve services. It bans profiteering from dodgy practices like obligatory shopping outings on tours and rules that scenic spots must not receive visitors beyond their capacities.

Statistics show 2.73 billion domestic journeys were made in China during the first three quarters this year, a 10.8 percent increase over the same period of previous year. Outbound trips rose 16.7 percent to 85.44 million in the first three quarters and tourism revenue increased by 14.9 percent to 2.46 trillion yuan ($400 billion).

The report said local tourism departments carried out more than 15,000 inspections, examined about 60,000 tourism companies and completed 40,000 tour guide inspections.

Despite progress, problems still remain. Existing regulations have certain provisions which are not in line with the current law and have yet to be revised. Some of the more prominent issues, such as illegal business operation and market monopolies, have not been cleared up and attention paid to the protection of tourist resources was far from enough, said the report.

Suggestions were made on law popularization, regulation improvement, strengthening law enforcement and improving public service.

The NPC Standing Committee dispatched three inspection teams to the provinces of Zhejiang, Hainan, Sichuan, Shaanxi and Ningxia Hui autonomous region, while the situation in another eight provincial-level regions including Beijing were reviewed by local people's congress committees.