Vietnamese officials on Wednesday are to visit Phu Quoc Island to handle a dispute between a Taiwanese and a Vietnamese tour operator over outstanding accounts.
The Kien Giang Province Department of Tourism said it would send a task force to study the contracts between Taiwan’s Mega International Travel Service (美加國際旅行社) and the Vietnamese firm, Vietnam’s Thanh Nien newspaper reported.
Mega on Friday and Saturday last week sent nearly 800 tourists to the island for a five-day tour, who were then entrusted to local Vietnamese tour operators.
Photo courtesy of Ziontour Vietnam via CNA
However, Vietnam WInnER International Travel Co on Saturday asked the 292 tourists under its care to pay US$720 each to continue, as Mega had only paid one-10th of their tour fees.
Mega had also reportedly not yet paid Vietnam’s Bamboo Airways for the chartered return flights, raising concern that the tourists could become stranded on the island.
The travel agencies and airline reached an agreement to accommodate the travelers and fly them back to Taiwan, despite the outstanding payments.
On Wednesday, 613 of the tourists had boarded three separate flights returning to Taiwan. The other 150 returned on Tuesday.
The director of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Ho Chi Minh City also went to the airport to see the travelers off.
The Tourism Administration earlier said it was working with the Travel Quality Assurance Association to investigate whether Mega had contravened the Regulations Governing Travel Agencies (旅行業管理規則) and its client contracts.
The association would also help handle customer disputes, it added.
Separately on Wednesday, another travel agency based in Da Nang, Vietnam, said that Mega is notorious for delaying payments.
The two firms have worked together for about 12 years, Ziontour Vietnam manager Phan Anh Tri said.
Over 2019 and 2020, Mega accumulated outstanding accounts totaling more than US$80,000, of which it has only paid US$10,000, he said, presenting a balance sheet.
Three other tour companies in Da Nang have also encountered similar behavior by Mega, in which the company gives a down payment to ensure they accept the tour, then delays full payment, he added.
Mega earlier this week rejected WInnER’s claims, saying that the two had agreed to clear payments on Feb. 26.
It also promised to cover all client losses stemming from the dispute.
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