New regulations on online tourism management services will be implemented today

The National Tourism Administration said in a statement that five tourism industry standards, including requirements for the operation and service of third-party online trading platforms for travel agency products and service requirements for service outlets of travel agencies, have been approved and will take effect from July 1. The first of these new regulations is the first regulation of online tourism management services, and has a strong pertinence to the management of the current online tourism chaos, so it has attracted much attention.

From what aspects does the new regulation regulate the operation of online tourism? Does the regulation have measures to deal with the problems of "mixed" tourism companies on the Internet, the difficulty of protecting rights when tourists choose online travel services, and the leakage of user information? What impact will it have on the future of online travel? Interviews were conducted on these issues.

"Unregistered" enterprises find it difficult to establish themselves

China's online travel market has grown rapidly in recent years, creating a number of online travel companies such as Ctrip, Qunar and Tuniu. At the same time, many travel agencies have gradually expanded their business to online, and the official website has become an important way to attract customers. More and more tourists also began to get used to online inquiry information, booking product lines, and make the corresponding evaluation. "The online tourism industry is positive in promoting the country's construction of a modern service industry and giving consumers more choices." Dai Bin, president of the China Tourism Academy, first affirmed the positive significance of online tourism companies, but also pointed out that there are some problems. "Some companies publish some false travel information on the Internet, and some are suspected of violating the Tourism Law and the Travel Agency Regulations."

Browsing travel websites, we often see advertisements such as "Hong Kong X Day Tour, only 999 Yuan". The price is attractive, but there may be hidden consumption traps. In addition, some websites have false information, and even some unqualified "black travel agencies" and "black tour guides" fish in troubled waters online. Once there is a dispute, consumer consumption safety is difficult to guarantee, difficult to pay compensation.

"In this case, first of all, there is a question of defining the responsibility. Is it the responsibility of the publisher or the responsibility of the publishing platform?" Dai Bin said. The new rules, which took effect on July 1, specify the classification of third-party online trading platforms for travel agency products, their trading processes, basic requirements for operation, basic requirements for services, and requirements for travel agencies.

"(third-party online trading) platforms shall obtain industrial and commercial business licenses, telecommunications and information service business licenses, complete the record of operational websites, and publish relevant information in a prominent position on the homepage of the websites," the new regulations stipulate. "They shall enter into operation contracts with cooperative travel agencies, and supervise the products and related information released by travel agencies." "A credit rating system can be established to evaluate and manage the credit of travel agencies. The credit rating system should be publicized in advance and provide tourists with credit rating inquiry services." These regulations have provided a guarantee for further standardizing online tourism operation and safeguarding the rights and interests of consumers, but also made it difficult for "unregistered" enterprises to gain a foothold.

Keep trading information for 3 years as the basis for rights protection

According to XX consulting data, in 2013, our online tourism market transaction scale reached 220.46 billion yuan. The Survey of Chinese Internet Users' Leisure Life and Outbound Tourism Consumption shows that the middle-aged and young people with high education and high income have become the main body of online consumption with travel habits. Their travel methods tend to be networked and self-service, and 75% of Internet users will choose online transactions for travel consumption.

"XX" is one of the 75%. As an independent photographer and travel expert, "XX" has traveled to 27 countries by herself. Around 2010, he started planning his journey online, and dealing with various travel websites became a regular part of his travels. "Sometimes I go alone, sometimes I go in a group with a few friends." In this process, "XX" found many imperfections in the travel website.

"Last year, I made an appointment with several friends to go on holiday to Sanya and buy products through a travel website. The others gave me carte Blanche. So I signed up for all seven of them." "XX" said, "Although it is convenient and saves time, it also has hidden dangers. For example, the travel agency undertaking only has the real name information of one participant, and the travel website only signs a travel contract with me, which cannot guarantee that every tourist will recognize the terms agreed in the contract. If there is an accident or dispute, it will be difficult for my friend to defend his rights."

In this regard, Dai Bin stressed that tourists must sign a contract to buy tourism products through the website. General formal online travel websites have a variety of options in the way of signing: online signing, fax signing, door-to-door signing or store signing. According to Article 10 and 11 of the Second Chapter of the Contract Law of the People's Republic of China, an electronic contract signed online has the same legal effect as a paper contract.

The new regulations also require information and data services for online tourism companies. "The data of both parties to a transaction on the platform shall be kept for no less than three years from the date of their last login. The searchable transaction data is kept for no less than three years from the date of the transaction." In this way, if there is a dispute after the consumption of tourists, there is a basis for rights protection.

Preventing information leaks is a long way off

Recently, there has been widespread criticism about the leakage of tourists' information when they book or buy travel products online.

In March, vulnerability reporting platform "XX" published a message on its official website pointing out that a large number of Ctrip users' bank card information had been leaked. The leaked information includes: cardholder's name, cardholder's ID card, bank card category, bank card number, etc., endangering the payment security of users. An industry source said that this matter "may affect online tourism". Other problems, such as the leaking of user contact information and purchase records, are also widespread.

"It's really a problem for tourists." "But we should also see that this problem does not only exist in online travel companies, but also in other areas of Internet companies, such as shopping," Dai confessed in an interview with this newspaper. Preventing information leakage is an issue of network supervision, which involves many departments. It is difficult for the tourism department to solve it on its own. It needs the coordination of Internet supervision departments, financial supervision departments and public