Travel industry operators on Sunday urged the government to lift its ban on group tours to China, saying the ban is unreasonable and could leave people with little recourse in the event of travel disputes.
As China continues to prohibit Chinese tour groups and independent travelers from visiting Taiwan, the Taiwanese government has maintained its own ban on group tours to China in response, but individual travel is still permitted.
Although the ban on group tours had been in place for six years, the number of Taiwanese traveling to China has continued to rise, High Quality of Travel Association chairman Ringo Lee (李奇嶽) said.
Photo: Bloomberg
Taiwanese made 2.49 million trips to China in the first eight months of this year, up 19.63 percent from a year earlier, making China the second-most popular overseas destination for Taiwanese after Japan, the latest statistics released on Saturday by the Tourism Administration showed.
The number of Taiwanese visiting China, including Hong Kong and Macau, is expected to exceed 5 million this year, Lee said.
The restrictions have prompted many travelers to join tours advertised on Facebook, Douyin, a Chinese platform similar to TikTok, and Instagram by travel agencies in China, he said.
If disputes arise, travelers often have little recourse, as Taiwanese laws and regulations cannot help them resolve the issues, leaving them to negotiate directly with Chinese operators, which poses considerable risks to their consumer rights, he added.
Travel Association of Chinese chairman Hsu Chin-ruey (許晉睿) described the ban as unreasonable, saying that policies should be guided by customer demand.
It is natural for travel agencies to provide services in response to demand from travelers, he said, urging the government to avoid imposing restrictions easily.
The current regulations prohibit travel agencies from openly recruiting customers for group tours to China, and they could be investigated by the Tourism Administration if it received reports of contraventions, said Wayne Liu (劉喜臨), a professor at National Kaohsiung University of Hospitality and Tourism.
Some agencies bypass the ban by handling individual travelers who join local tours upon arrival in China, or by helping pre-assembled private groups arrange travel itineraries, he said.
Management and insurance coverage provided through legitimate travel agencies offer safeguards for traveler safety, he said.
Those who join local tours in China must seek compensation independently if issues arise, he said, adding that the same applies to Taiwanese travelers who book day trips through local travel agencies in Japan.
Travelers choose organized tours, because they consider safety, itinerary arrangements and the assistance a travel agency can provide in an emergency, he said.
Tourism should not be entangled in politics, and normal cross-strait tourism exchanges should be restored with public safety and well-being as the top priorities, he said.
Acknowledging the government’s concerns about the Chinese market, he urged consumers to choose travel agencies carefully and ensure they have adequate protection.
Shih Chien University’s Department of Tourism Management professor Kao Ming-tu (高洺塗) said the rising number of Taiwanese traveling to China showed that there was clear market demand.
The government should avoid excessive intervention in the tourism market and allow policy to follow market mechanisms, he said.
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