Jakarta, goldensamoyed Indonesia
—
A group of tourists were forced to shop for expensive items while at a shop in Chengdu Province, China.The coercion was carried out by
tour guide
tourists while in China.
However, the tourists refused to be forced to shop, triggering the tour guide’s annoyance.After rejection from tourists, the tour guide took controversial action.
This bad experience was told by the winner of the 2007 Campus SuperStar competition, Shawn Tok via Instagram Stories, who revealed the experience while traveling to China for nine days last November.
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While visiting a shop there, Shawn Tok and his tour group were forced by the tour guide to buy a number of items, such as jade, silver accessories, combs, and even herbal medicines by the tour guide.
However, they refused to purchase expensive items at the shop.The tour guide was adamant and did not let the 23 tourists leave the shop before purchasing goods, as reported
VN Express
.
The tour guide is adamant because he has to meet the sales quota, namely the target for purchasing goods by tourists at tourist attractions that partner with tour agents.Usually this sales quota will affect commissions (if met) or even fines (if not met).
In fact, this group of tourists had said that during their tour they had spent around 105,000 yuan or around IDR 246 million, but the tour guide said that this amount was not enough to meet their target.
Not accepting the tour guide’s attitude, Shawn then immediately re-examined their travel contract and did not find a single clause that required tourists to purchase or be responsible for sales quotas.
Shawn also highlighted that under local law, stopping tourists from shopping is not included in the contract and is also illegal.
Then, Shawn and his tour group reported this incident to the authorities with a complaint of forced shopping fraud.They showed the transaction history and receipts to the police as evidence.
After Chinese authorities intervened, the tour agent finally issued full refunds to the tourists. This incident also sparked heated debate on social media.
Many netizens warned tourists to be careful of cheap tours and suspicious agents on social media platforms.
“Either travel free and easy or book with a reputable agent,” suggested one user on social media.
China has stepped up enforcement against forced shopping practices that often entice customers with the promise of cheap tours but then pressure them to buy merchandise at designated stores.
(ana/wiw)
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