Tourism Law of the People’s Republic of China (Full Text)

Article 89 Local people’s governments above the county level shall build a system to share the information on the penalty for tourism offenses, and urge the settlement of the offenses that require the cooperation of different departments and regions. 

The department in charge of tourism and relevant departments shall timely make public the supervision/inspection results according to their respective responsibilities. 

Article 90 Tourism industry organizations established in accordance with laws, administrative regulations and articles of association develop operational and service standards of the industry, conduct self-discipline management over its members’ operational behaviors and service quality, hold professional ethics education and trainings, and improve the quality of employees. 

Chapter VIII Settlement of Tourism Disputes

Article 91 Local people’s governments above the county level shall designate or establish a unified authority to accept tourism complaints. Upon acceptance of a complaint, the same shall timely settle it or transfer it to the competent department for settlement, and shall inform the complainant of it. 

Article 92 Any dispute arising between the tourists and the tourism operators shall be settled by

(1) Mutual agreement; 

(2) Applying for mediation by the consumers’ association, the tourist complaint acceptance authority or relevant mediation organizations;

(3) Applying to arbitration bodies for arbitration proceedings pursuant to relevant agreements reached with the tourism operators;

(4) Filing a lawsuit with a people’s court;

Article 93 On a consensual basis, the consumers’ association, tourist complaint acceptance authority and relevant mediation organization shall mediate between the tourists and the tourism operators over the dispute between them in accordance with the law.

Article 94 In case a dispute arises between the tourists and the tourism operators and the tourists are numerous and have the same claims, the tourists may elect representatives to take part in the negotiation, mediation, arbitration and litigation processes. 

Chapter IX Legal Responsibilities

Article 95 For those who violate the provisions herein and run travel agencies without authorization, the tourism authority or the administrative department for industry and commerce shall order such to remedy the situation, confiscate their illegal gains, impose on them a fine of RMB10,000-RMB100,000, or a fine one to five times the illegal gains if such gains reach over RMB100,000; as for the people responsible, a fine of RMB2,000-RMB20,000 may be imposed on them. 

Those who violate the provisions herein and run the businesses included in subparagraphs 2 and 3, paragraph one of Article 29 in this law without authorization, or rent or lend the travel agency business license to another party, or illegally transfer the travel agency business license in other forms shall, apart from being fined as provided above, be ordered to suspend operation for rectification; their travel agency business license shall be revoked when the circumstances are serious; and a fine of RMB2,000-RMB20,000 shall be imposed on the directly responsible person in charge. 

Article 96 In case the travel agency violates this law and has one of the behaviors below, the department in charge of tourism shall order it to remedy the situation, confiscate its illegal gains, and impose a fine of RMB5,000-RMB50,000 on it; when the circumstances are serious, the travel agency concerned shall be ordered to suspend operation for rectification or its travel agency business license may be revoked; as for the directly liable person in charge and other directly liable people, a fine of RMB2,000-RMB20,000 shall be imposed. 

(1) Failing to designate a tour guide or tour lead to accompany the outbound and inbound tourist groups in accordance with regulations; 

(2) Designating personnel who have not obtained the tour guide certificate or the tour lead certificate to provide services as tour guide or tour lead; 

(3) Failing to pay the temporarily employed tour guides the service fees; 

(4) Requesting the tour guide to make payment in advance or charging the tour guide. 

Article 97 In case the travel agency violates this law and has one of the behaviors below, the department in charge of tourism or relevant departments shall order it to remedy the situation, confiscate its illegal gains, and impose a fine of RMB5,000-RMB50,000 on it; when the circumstances are serious, the travel agency concerned shall be ordered to suspend operation for rectification or its travel agency business license may be revoked; as for the directly liable person in charge and other directly liable people, a fine of RMB2,000-RMB20,000 may be imposed.

(1) Making false publicity which misleads the tourists; 

(2) Ordering products/services from unqualified suppliers; 

(3) Failing to effect insurance in respect of the social responsibilities of the travel agency in accordance with the regulations.  

Article 98 In case the travel agency violates Article 35 of this law, the department in charge of tourism shall order it to take remedy measures and suspend operation for rectification, confiscate its illegal gains, and impose a fine of RMB30,000-RMB300,000 on it; when the illegal gains reach over RMB300,000, a fine one time to five times the amount of the illegal gains shall be imposed; when the circumstances are serious, its travel agency business license may be revoked; as for the directly liable person in charge and other directly liable people, their illegal gains shall be confiscated and a fine of RMB2,000-RMB20,000 shall be imposed on them or their tour guide certificate and tour lead certificate may be provisionally suspended or revoked. 

Article 99 In case the travel agency fails to fulfill its reporting obligation provided in Article 55 of this law, the department in charge of tourism may impose a fine of RMB5,000-RMB50,000 on it; when the circumstances are serious, it may be ordered to suspend operation for rectification or its travel agency business license may be revoked; as for the directly liable person in charge and other directly liable people, a fine of RMB2,000-RMB20,000 shall be imposed on them or their tour guide certificate and tour lead certificate may be provisionally suspended or revoked.