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Trips in Asia to cost more this Lunar New Year

Travelers will see a smaller rate of increase in the cost of tours to Southeast Asia, Japan and China in January to March compared with the same period this year, the Taipei-based Travel Quality Assurance Association (TQAA 旅行業品質保障協會) said yesterday.

Australia and New Zealand will be the most expensive travel destinations, it said.

Group fees for traveling to Southeast Asian nations in the first quarter will see an increase of NT$1,000 (US$31) to NT$2,000 compared with the same period this year, because of an increase in plane fares and the NT$250 increase in Thailand's visa fee, the association said.

During the winter vacation and the Lunar New Year holidays, group fees for trips to Japan will increase by between NT$2,000 and NT$4,000, the association's survey of its member companies found.

Wu Chih-sung (吳志崧), president of Top Crown Travel Service Co (名冠旅行社), said a three-day national holiday in Japan from Feb. 9 to Feb. 11 has made it particularly difficult to book hotel rooms for that period because of higher room rates.

Group fees for China -- the destination for nearly 50 percent of outbound tourists last year -- are expected to increase by just NT$1,000 this winter. The association blamed the increase on the strengthening yuan and rises in the price of oil.

Traveling to Australia and New Zealand, meanwhile, will cost an additional NT$4,000 to NT$11,000 compared with the same period this year -- although travelers headed for New Zealand between Feb. 1 and Feb. 9 should expect to pay NT$20,000 more than this year.

"Aside from the nice weather in the southern hemisphere, the sharp increase in Australia and New Zealand's group fees is down to the limited number of plane seats the airlines now provide to local travel agencies," said Huang Hsien-tsai (黃賢在), vice general manager of Phoenix Tours International Inc (鳳凰旅行社).

"This is because airline companies now distribute their plane seats based on the prices being offered," Huang said, adding that demand was outstripping supply.

Compared to other countries, the lower priced plane tickets available in Taiwan means fewer seats will be available, he said.

The TQAA said it has set up a committee to investigate complaints of false advertising, especially exaggerated low-price offers, to try to prevent a repeat of incidents where travel agencies closed after collecting payments for Lunar New Year holiday trips.

The association also urged consumers to choose only legal travel agencies and ones that are TQAA members.

It said consumers could also try to protect themselves by signing contracts with their travel agencies, asking for receipts and paying for their trips using credit cards.
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