New regulations for online tourism management services will be implemented from now on, making it difficult for black households to establish themselves

The National Tourism Administration recently announced that five tourism industry standards, including the "Operation and Service Requirements for Third Party Online Trading Platforms of Travel Agency Products" and "Service Requirements for Travel Agency Service Outlets," have been approved and will be implemented from July 1st. The first new regulation is the first regulation made for online tourism management services, and it has strong targeting for the governance of current online tourism chaos, so it has attracted much attention. In what aspects has this new regulation regulated the operation of online tourism? Is there any corresponding measure for such problems as the "good and evil" of tourism enterprises on the Internet, the difficulty of safeguarding rights in case of disputes when tourists choose online tourism services, and the leakage of user information? What impact will it have on the future development of online tourism industry? We conducted an investigation and interview on these issues. "Black door" enterprises find it difficult to establish themselves In recent years, China's online tourism market has grown rapidly, creating a group of online tourism enterprises such as Ctrip, Qunar, and Tuniu. At the same time, many travel agencies are gradually expanding their business online, and their official websites have become an important way to attract customers. More and more tourists are becoming accustomed to searching for relevant information online, booking product routes, and making corresponding evaluations. "Online tourism is of positive significance in promoting China's construction of a modern service industry and giving consumers more choices." Dai Bin, president of the China Tourism Research Institute, first affirmed the positive significance of online tourism enterprises, and pointed out that there are also some problems at present. "Some enterprises publish some false tourism information on the Internet, and some are suspected of violating the Tourism Law and the Travel Agency Regulations." When browsing travel websites, we often see slogans such as "Hong Kong X-day tour, only 999 yuan" with tempting prices, but there is a possibility of hidden consumption traps. In addition, some websites contain false information, and even some unqualified "black travel agencies" and "black tour guides" are fishing in troubled waters online. Once disputes arise, it is difficult to ensure consumer safety and make compensation difficult. "For this situation, the first challenge is to define responsibility, whether it is the responsibility of the publisher or the responsibility of the publishing platform?" said Dai Bin. The new rules, which came into effect on July 1st, provide clear explanations for the classification, transaction process, basic requirements for operation, basic requirements for services, and requirements for travel agencies on third-party online trading platforms for travel agency products. The new regulations stipulate that "third-party online trading platforms should obtain a business license, a telecommunications and information service business operation license, complete the registration of operational websites, and prominently display relevant information on the website's main page." "They should enter into an entry operation contract with cooperating travel agencies, supervise the travel agency products and related information released by travel agencies." "A credit evaluation system can be established to evaluate and manage travel agencies, and the credit rating evaluation system should be made public in advance, providing credit rating query services for tourists.". These regulations provide guarantees for further regulating online tourism operations and safeguarding consumer rights, and also make it difficult for "black door" enterprises to establish themselves. Save transaction information for 3 years as a basis for rights protection According to consulting data, in 2013, the transaction volume of China's online tourism market reached 220.46 billion yuan. The survey on the consumption status of Chinese netizens in tourism, leisure life, and outbound tourism shows that middle-aged and young people with high education and middle to high income have become the main online consumers with tourism habits. Their travel methods tend to be networked and self-service, with 75% of netizens choosing online online transactions for tourism consumption. "" "is one of these 75% molecules. As an independent photographer and travel expert, "" has self traveled to 27 countries. Around 2010, he began planning the entire journey through the internet and interacting with various travel websites became a norm for his travels. Sometimes I travel alone, and sometimes I set off in groups with a few friends. During this process, I discovered many imperfections in the travel website. "Last year, I made plans with several friends to go on vacation in Sanya and purchase products through a travel website. Several others entrusted me with full responsibility. As a result, I signed up for all seven of my companions." "Although it was convenient and time-saving, there were also hidden dangers. For example, the travel agency I undertook only had the real name information of one participant, and the travel website only signed a travel contract with me, which cannot guarantee that every tourist would recognize the terms stipulated in the contract. In the event of an accident or dispute, it would be difficult for my friends to protect their rights." Dai Bin emphasized that when tourists purchase tourism products through websites, they must sign a contract. Generally, legitimate online travel websites also have multiple options for signing contracts: online signing, fax signing, on-site signing, or in store signing. According to Article 10 and Article 11 of Chapter 2 of the Contract Law of the People's Republic of China, electronic contracts signed online have the same legal effect as paper contracts. The new regulations also have corresponding requirements for information and data services of online tourism enterprises. The data of both parties in the platform transaction shall be saved for no less than 3 years from the date of their last login. The searchable transaction data shall be saved for no less than 3 years from the date of the transaction. This provides a basis for protecting the rights of tourists in case of disputes after consumption. Preventing information leakage is a long and arduous task Recently, the issue of tourist information being leaked when booking or purchasing travel products online has been widely criticized. In March of this year, the vulnerability reporting platform released a message on its official website, pointing out that a large number of Ctrip users had leaked their bank card information. The leaked information includes the cardholder's name, ID card, type of bank card held, bank card number, etc., which poses a threat to user payment security. Industry insiders have revealed that this matter may have an impact on the online tourism industry. Other issues such as leaking user contact information and purchase records are also widely present. "This is indeed a problem puzzling the vast number of tourists." Dai Bin admitted in an interview with this newspaper, "but we should also see that this problem does not only exist in online tourism enterprises, but also exists in Internet enterprises in other fields, such as shopping. Preventing information leakage is a problem of network supervision, involving many departments, which is difficult to solve by the tourism department alone, and needs the cooperation of the Internet regulatory department, financial regulatory department, public security department, etc."