South Korea's Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has revised the guidelines for travel agencies in a bid to attract Chinese tour groups, and will take administrative measures against those who violate regulations to eliminate "dumping tours," which have been identified as a major cause of tourist complaints.
Such tours refer to practices where travel agencies attract tourists with unreasonably low prices and profit by including nonstop shopping activities, earning commissions from vendors along the way, said the report. The revision took effect on Monday.
A travel agency in South Korea was suspended in May for coercing Chinese tour groups into shopping while visiting the country. It was the first time the South Korean government suspended a travel agency's operations due to such practices.