- Decree of the State Council of the People's Republic of China (No. 550)
| The Regulations on Travel Agencies, which was adopted at the 47th executive meeting of the State Council on January 21, 2009, is hereby promulgated and shall come into force on May 1, 2009. |
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Premier Wen Jiabao
February 20, 2009 |
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Regulations on Travel Agencies
Chapter I General Provisions
Article 1 This Regulation is formulated for purposes of strengthening the administration of travel agencies, protecting the legitimate rights and interests of tourists and travel agencies, maintaining the order of the tourism market, and promoting the healthy development of the tourism industry.
Article 2 This Regulation shall apply to the establishment and business activities of travel agencies within the People¡¯s Republic of China.
The term ¡°travel agencies¡± as mentioned in this Regulation shall refer to enterprise legal persons that engage in such activities as soliciting, organizing and receiving tourists, provide tourists with relevant tourism services, and conduct domestic tourism business, inbound tourism business, or outbound tourism business.
Article 3 The tourism administrative department of the State Council shall be responsible for the supervision and management of all travel agencies throughout the country.
The tourism administrative departments of the local people¡¯s governments at and above the county level shall be responsible for the supervision and management of travel agencies in their administrative regions according to their functions.
The relevant departments of industry and commerce, price, commerce, and foreign exchange, etc. of the people¡¯s governments at and above the county level shall, according to the division of functions, supervise and manage travel agencies according to law.
Article 4 Travel agencies shall observe the principle of voluntariness, equality, fairness, and honesty, enhance the service quality and protect the legitimate rights and interests of tourists.
Article 5 An industry organization of travel agencies shall provide services for travel agencies according to the articles of association, play the role of coordination and self-discipline, guide travel agencies to compete legitimately and fairly as well as operate honestly.
Chapter II Establishment of Travel Agencies
Article 6 To apply for establishing a travel agency and operating the domestic tourism business and inbound tourism business, an applicant shall meet the following conditions:
(1) It shall have a fixed business place;
(2) It shall have necessary business facilities; and
(3) It shall have a registered capital of not less than 300,000 yuan.
Article 7 To apply for establishing a travel agency and operating the domestic tourism business and inbound tourism business, an applicant shall file an application with the tourism administrative department of the province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government at the place where it is located, or with the commissioned tourism administrative department at the level of a districted city, and shall submit the relevant certification documents satisfying the requirements of Article 6 of this Regulation. The tourism administrative department accepting the application shall make a decision on approval or disapproval within 20 workdays from the acceptance of the application. In the case of approval, it shall issue a business permit for travel agencies to the applicant, who shall handle the registration of establishment at the administrative department for industry and commerce upon the strength of the business permit for travel agencies; in the case of disapproval, it shall notify the applicant in written form and give reasons.
Article 8 A travel agency, which has obtained the business permit for two years or more, and is not subject to any punishment more serious than fine by the administrative body due to the infringement upon the legitimate rights and interests of tourists, may apply for operating the outbound tourism business.
Article 9 To apply for operating the outbound tourism business, an applicant shall file an application with the tourism administrative department of the State Council or with the commissioned tourism administrative department of the province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government. The tourism administrative department accepting the application shall make a decision on approval or disapproval within 20 workdays from the acceptance of the application. In the case of approval, it shall replace the business permit for travel agencies with a new one for the applicant, and the travel agency shall handle the registration of modification at the administrative department for industry and commerce upon the strength of the new business permit for travel agencies; in the case of disapproval, it shall notify the applicant in written form and give reasons.
Article 10 Where a travel agency plans to establish a branch, it shall handle the registration of establishment at the administrative department for industry and commerce at the place where the branch is located upon the strength of the duplicate of the business permit for travel agencies, and shall file the registration for archival purpose with the tourism administrative department at the place where the branch is located within three workdays from the date of registration of establishment.
The establishment of a branch of a travel agency shall not be subject to geographical restriction. The business scope of the branch shall not exceed that of the travel agency establishing it.
Article 11 To establish a service outlet for the purpose of soliciting tourists and providing tourism consultation (hereinafter referred to as the service outlet of a travel agency), the travel agency shall handle the formalities for registration of establishment at the administrative department for industry and commerce according to law, and file the registration for archival purpose with the tourism administrative department at the place where it is located.
The service outlet of a travel agency shall be subject to the uniform management of the travel agency and shall not be engaged in the activities other than soliciting tourists and consultation.
Article 12 Where a travel agency alters its name, business place, legal representative or other registration matters or terminates its business operation, it shall handle the corresponding registration of modification or cancellation at the administrative department for industry and commerce, and file the registration for archival purpose with the original tourism administrative department that issued the permit within ten workdays from completing the handling of registration, and have its business permit for travel agencies replaced or returned.
Article 13 A travel agency shall, within three workdays from the day when it obtains the business permit for travel agencies, open a special account for quality assurance fund in the bank designated by the tourism administrative department of the State Council, deposit quality assurance fund, or provide the tourism administrative department making the approval with bank guarantee which it obtains according to law and the secured amount of which is not less than the amount of the corresponding quality assurance fund.
A travel agency operating the domestic tourism business and inbound tourism business shall deposit the quality assurance fund of 200,000 yuan; a travel agency operating the outbound tourism business shall increase the deposit of quality assurance fund by 1,200,000 yuan.
The interests of the quality assurance fund shall belong to the travel agency.
Article 14 A travel agency shall increase its amount of quality assurance fund by 50,000 yuan in its special account for each branch it establishes to operate the domestic tourism business and inbound tourism business; shall increase its amount of quality assurance fund by 300,000 yuan in its special account for each branch it establishes to operate the outbound tourism business.
Article 15 Where a travel agency falls under any of the following circumstances, the tourism administrative department may use the quality assurance fund of the travel agency:
(1) The travel agency breaches the tourism contract and infringes upon the legitimate rights and interests of tourists, which is verified as true by the tourism administrative department; or
(2) The travel agency causes the lost of tourism fees prepaid by tourists due to dissolution, bankruptcy or any other reason.
Article 16 Where it is determined by the judgment, ruling or any other effective legal document of the people¡¯s court that a travel agency damaged the legitimate rights and interests of tourists but the travel agency refuses to make or is incapable of making the compensation, the people¡¯s court may transfer the money for the compensation from the account of quality assurance fund of the travel agency.
Article 17 Where a travel agency has not been subject to the punishment more serious than fine by the administrative body due to any infringement upon the legitimate rights and interests of tourists within three years from the day when it pays or makes up the quality assurance fund, the tourism administrative department shall reduce the amount of quality assurance fund deposited by the travel agency by 50%, and make an announcement to the public. The travel agency may reduce its quality assurance fund upon the strength of the certificates issued by the tourism administrative department of the province, autonomous regions, or municipality directly under the Central Government.
Article 18 Where a travel agency has been subject to punishment more serious than fine by the administrative body due to any infringement upon the legitimate rights and interests of tourists after the tourism administrative department has used the quality assurance fund to compensate for the loss suffered by tourists or reduced the quality assurance fund according to law, it shall make up the quality assurance fund within five workdays from the day when it receives the notice on making up the quality assurance fund from the tourism administrative department.
Article 19 Where a travel agency does not engage in tourism business any more, it shall take back the quality assurance fund from the bank upon the strength of the certificates issued by the tourism administrative department.
Article 20 The specific measures for the management of the deposit and use of the quality assurance fund shall be separately formulated by the tourism administrative department of the State Council and the public finance department of the State Council jointly with the relevant departments.
Chapter III Foreign-invested Travel Agencies
Article 21 The provisions of this Chapter shall apply to foreign-invested travel agencies; if it is not provided for in this Chapter, other provisions of this Regulation shall apply.
The term ¡°foreign-invested travel agencies¡± as mentioned in the preceding paragraph shall include Sino-foreign equity joint, Sino-foreign cooperative and solely foreign-funded travel agencies.
Article 22 To establish a foreign-invested travel agency, the investor shall file an application with the tourism administrative department of the State Council, and submit the relevant certification documents meeting the conditions as prescribed in Article 6 of this Regulation. The tourism administrative department of the State Council shall complete the examination within 30 workdays from the acceptance of the application. If the establishment is approved, it shall issue the examination opinion for business permit for foreign-invested travel agencies; if the establishment is disapproved, it shall notify the applicant in written form and give reasons.
The applicant shall apply to the competent commerce department of the State Council for establishing a foreign-invested enterprise upon the strength of the examination opinion for business permit for foreign-invested travel agencies, the articles of association, and the contract concluded by both parties concerned. The competent commerce department of the State Council shall make a decision on approval or disapproval according to the relevant laws and regulations. In the case of approval, it shall issue the foreign-invested enterprise license, and notify the applicant to obtain the business permit for travel agencies at the tourism administrative department of the State Council. And the applicant shall handle the registration of establishment at the administrative department for industry and commerce upon the strength of the business permit for travel agencies and the foreign-invested enterprise license; in the case of disapproval, it shall notify the applicant in written form and give reasons.
Article 23 No foreign-invested travel agency may operate the business in Chinese mainland residents¡¯ traveling to other countries and to Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Macao Special Administrative Region and Taiwan region, unless it is otherwise decided by the State Council, or provided for by the free trade agreements signed by China and by the arrangements on establishing closer economic partnership between Mainland and Hong Kong/Macao.
Chapter IV Operation of Travel Agencies
Article 24 A travel agency shall provide tourists with true and reliable tourism service information and shall not carry out false publicity.
Article 25 No travel agency operating the outbound tourism business may organize tourists to travel to any country or region other than the outbound tourism destinations for Chinese citizens as published by the tourism administrative department of the State Council.
Article 26 The tourism activities arranged for or introduced to tourists by travel agencies may not contain any contents violating the relevant laws and regulations.
Article 27 No travel agency may solicit tourists at a quotation lower than the travel cost. No travel agency may, without the consent of the tourists, provide any paid service other than those agreed on in the travel contract.
Article 28 To provide tourists with services, a travel agency shall conclude a travel contract with them, which shall bear the following matters:
(1) The name of the travel agency and its business scope, address, telephone number and serial number of the business permit for travel agencies;
(2) The name and telephone number of the handling person of the travel agency;
(3) The place and date of signing;
(4) The departure place, the place passed by and the destination of tour;
(5) The arrangements for transportation, accommodation, and catering services as well as standards for the tour;
(6) The specific content and time of the tour items uniformly arranged for by the travel agency;
(7) The time and frequency of the free time for tourists;
(8) The travel costs to be paid by tourists and the ways of payment;
(9) The number of times for shopping, length of stay and the name of shopping places arranged by the travel agency;
(10) The tour items that need extra payment by tourists and the price thereof;
(11) The conditions for terminating or modifying the contract and the time limit for the advance notification;
(12) The mechanism for resolving the disputes arising from a breach of contract and the responsibility to be assumed;
(13) The tourism service supervision and complaint phone number; and
(14) Other contents agreed on by both parties.
Article 29 When a travel agency is concluding a travel contract with tourists, it shall make a true, accurate and integrated explanations on the specific contents of the travel contract.
Where the stipulations in the travel contract concluded by the travel agency and the tourists are ambiguous or the two parties have disputes over the understanding of the standard terms, it shall be interpreted in accordance with common understanding. Where there are two or more kinds of interpretations to the standard terms, an interpretation favorable to the tourists shall prevail. Where the standard terms are inconsistent with non-standard terms, the latter shall prevail.
Article 30 Where a travel agency organizes Chinese mainland citizens to travel aboard, it shall arrange a team leader to accompany the travel team in the whole tour.
Article 31 A tour guide assigned by a travel agency for the reception of tourists or a team leader assigned for organizing the outbound tourism for tourists shall hold the tour guide certificate or team leader certificate as required by the State.
Article 32 When employing a tour guide or team leader, a travel agency shall conclude a labor contract according to law, and shall pay him remunerations of not less than the local minimum wage standard.
Article 33 A travel agency or any of the tour guides and team leaders assigned by it may not commit any of the following acts:
(1) Refusing to perform the duties agreed on in the travel contract;
(2) Changing the itinerary arranged in the travel contract not due to any force majeure; or
(3) Deceiving or coercing the tourists to go shopping or participate in tour items that need extra payment.
Article 34 A travel agency may not require the tour guides and team leaders to receive travel teams which do not pay the fees for reception and service or of which the fees paid are lower than the cost of reception and service, and may not require the tour guides and team leaders to assume the relevant fees for the reception of travel teams.
Article 35 Where a travel agency breaches the travel contract and causes any damage to the legitimate rights and interests of tourists, it shall take necessary remedial measures, and shall timely report to the tourism administrative department.
Article 36 Where a travel agency needs to entrust the tourism business, it shall entrust a travel agency having corresponding qualifications, ask the tourists for their consent, and conclude an entrustment contract on the matters about the reception of tourists with the travel agency accepting the entrustment, which shall determine all kinds of service arrangements and the standards thereof for receiving tourists, and stipulate the rights and obligations of .....
The rest is under official translation.
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