The online travel industry, which is growing rapidly and has been criticized, is about to usher in a new round of "strong supervision"。The Ministry of Culture and Tourism recently issued the "Interim Provisions on the Management of Online Tourism Business Services (Draft for Comment)" (hereinafter referred to as the "Interim Provisions")，This is also the first time that clear regulatory regulations have been issued for the online travel field。Supervision of platforms will continue to be strengthened in the future，Remediation against infringement of tourists’ legitimate rights and interests、Those who disrupt the order of the tourism market will be punished by law。

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“First of all, the system，New regulations put the power in the hands of tourists and consumers。”Deputy Director of the Communication Law Research Center of China University of Political Science and Law、Zhu Wei, a legislative expert on drafting new regulations, emphasized，"In the process of drafting，We invited scholars from all walks of life、Law enforcement agencies and related enterprises, etc.，Thinking from the perspective of tourism consumer protection，At the same time, we also take into account the protection of the legitimate rights and interests of tourism operators。”

In recent years，my country’s online travel market is growing rapidly，The number of online travel companies and platforms continues to grow，Promotes tourism consumption，Driving the development of the industry。However, individual companies and platforms violate relevant laws and regulations from time to time，Violated the legitimate rights and interests of tourists，Disturbing the order of the tourism market，Individual cases of egregious nature have attracted widespread social attention。“Reports and complaints received from local cultural and tourism administrative departments，As well as the problems reflected in relevant media reports，The issues involved by the above-mentioned companies and platforms mainly focus on ‘travel safety and 188bet online sports betting rescue obligations、Consumer Rights Protection、False propaganda’ and other important aspects of industry development，It is urgent to regulate it through improving laws and regulations。”The Ministry of Culture and Tourism emphasized in the drafting instructions。

"Current "Cybersecurity Law of the People's Republic of China"、The "E-Commerce Law of the People's Republic of China" has been promulgated and implemented，In the field of tourism, there is only the "Tourism Law"、"Travel Agency Management Regulations" and related implementation rules，Existing regulations although somewhat binding，But there are still some ‘marginal areas’ in the actual supervision process，The promulgation of the “Interim Provisions” comes at the right time。The regulations for the current outstanding problems in the industry have also been concretely reflected。" said Li Hong, a professor at the School of Tourism Sciences at Beijing International Studies University。

Instructions for drafting the "Interim Provisions" draft for comments，The Ministry of Culture and Tourism has clarified that online tourism companies and platforms are both service entities in the offline tourism industry，Another operator of an online e-commerce platform，Has dual identity。The "Interim Provisions" issued this time include five chapters and 42 articles，Divided into general rules、Operations、Supervision and Inspection、Legal liability、Supplementary provisions and other parts。Among them，The "Interim Regulations" will make false reservations、Unreasonable low-price tour、Price discrimination (big data killing)、Specific provisions have been made on credit supervision and other issues。

“The online travel industry has developed rapidly in recent years，At present, most consumers make reservations online，This involves a series of new issues，For example, big data is familiar with it、False booking and other new user rights protection issues。Some problems are being solved，Involving operator qualifications、Suppliers and other issues are beyond the scope of traditional tourism law。"Zhu Wei said，"The introduction of new regulations in the future，Will be in accordance with the "Cybersecurity Law of the People's Republic of China"、Better complementation and mutual connection between the "Electronic Commerce Law of the People's Republic of China"。”

"Interim Provisions" points out，The culture and tourism administrative department establishes a credit file for the online tourism industry in accordance with the law，Register information of online travel operator market entities、Administrative permission、Spot inspection、Inscribed on the list of companies with abnormal operations or the list of companies with serious violations of laws and 188bet sports betting app download untrustworthy laws、Administrative penalties and other information are included in credit records in accordance with the law，Share credit information to other departments，Implement joint disciplinary measures against those who seriously violate laws and breach of trust。In addition to the unified collection and disclosure of credit information in accordance with the law by the national tourism supervision service platform，Also through the official website、Disclose credit information in a prominent position on the homepage of 188bet online sports betting Online travel operators。At the same time，Encourage consumer organizations、Industry Association、Third-party organizations and others conduct service quality evaluation，And make the evaluation results public，Guide rational consumption。"Including the Cyberspace Administration of China since this year、Business and Industry、Ministries and commissions at all levels are strengthening credit supervision，In the future, various departments will also strengthen joint punishment。"Zhu Wei said。

It’s worth noting，The responsibilities of tourists are also clarified in the new regulations。Travel contract disputes arising from tourists’ self-loss，The "Interim Provisions" clarifies that tourists should violate laws and regulations during tourism activities，Or failure to provide personal health information related to travel activities as required，Or do not listen to the instructions of the online travel operator、Warning，Participate in tourism activities that are not suitable for your conditions，Causing personal and property damage，188bet online sports betting Online travel operators do not bear legal responsibility。

Aiming at the chaos on the platform, hot topics such as big data killing and ripening will have laws to follow

Long time，There are constant hot-button complaints in the online travel industry，But it has not been effectively solved。Overlord Clause、Big data familiarity、Order return and change、False propaganda、Unreasonable low price、Order error、Travel accident compensation and many other aspects have been the "hardest hit areas" for consumer complaints over the years。Displayed from Eagle Eye public opinion sampling data，Past three months，Online travel topics that attract public attention，The proportion of topics discussing “big data killing” is about 21.36%， The proportion of topics discussing "Ministry of Culture and Tourism's rectification of online tourism" is about 10.68%， The proportion of topics discussing "system crash" is about 7.77%， The proportion of topics discussing "How dare OTAs introduce new regulations" is about 2.91%。

This "Interim Provisions" responds to a series of hot social issues。The regulations clearly state，Fake bookings are not allowed、Unreasonable low-priced tours are not allowed to be listed、Do not use technology for price discrimination (big data killing)。

In response to the much-criticized issue of price discrimination (big data killing)，"Interim Provisions" points out，188bet online sports betting Online travel operators are not allowed to use big data and other technical means，Tourists with different consumption characteristics，Set differentiated prices for the same product or service under the same conditions。Violation of this provision，The cultural and tourism administrative departments at or above the county level shall comply with the provisions of Article 77 of the E-Commerce Law of the People's Republic of China，An order can be given to make corrections within a time limit、Confiscation of illegal income、A fine of not less than RMB 50,000 but not more than RMB 200,000。"Big data mature problem，We understand that there is indeed a situation。The existing "Electronic Commerce Law of the People's Republic of China" does not clearly provide for price discrimination (big data killing)，This time we have clarified this issue in the new regulations，Implemented into regulations。”Zhu Wei’s introduction。

“Another example is the problem of false bookings，Now a gray industry has formed，So the new rules are in place，We have also made special provisions。Online travel companies should provide openness and transparency、Can no longer mislead consumers，Can no longer mislead consumers，False bookings are not allowed in any way。" Zhu Wei further pointed out。About the issue of false reservations，Pointed out in the draft for comments，188bet online sports betting Online travel operators provide tourists with online hotel bookings、Air tickets、Train ticket、Ferry ticket、When it comes to products or services such as air tickets，Transparency should be established、Public、Available booking channels，Do not mislead tourists，False reservations are not allowed in any way。

For evaluation rights，There are also clear requirements in the interim regulations，Platform operators should protect tourists’ legitimate evaluation rights，No illegal deletion、Block tourists’ comments on platform services and the products and services of operators on the platform，Do not mislead、Lure、Replace or force tourists to make reviews。

Head platform strengthening specifications and operability need to be improved

"In fact，The online travel industry has achieved industry centralization very early，Strengthen supervision of leading platform companies in the future，It will also play an outlining role in regulating the overall online travel industry。" Yang Yanfeng, Director of the Online Tourism Research Center of Beijing Union University emphasized。Previously reported，my country’s online travel transaction volume exceeded 700 billion yuan in the first half of 2019，Accounting for nearly 70% of online travel spending，Ctrip is the dominant family，Flying Pig、The competitive landscape of Tongcheng-Elong and Meituan Travel has not changed，Ctrip alone accounts 188bet sports betting app download for 55% of online travel transactions.7%，More than all other platforms combined。

Clearly stated in the "Interim Provisions"，Platform operator、Operator within the platform、Operators who build their own websites or provide online travel business services through other network services，All belong to 188bet online sports betting Online travel operators。At the same time，The regulations also specify that the qualification review of the platform must be further strengthened、Tip、Early Warning、Supervision、Process、Report、Insurance and other related requirements，Further consolidated the responsibility of the platform’s main body。Also，According to the judicial interpretation of the Supreme People’s Court on tourism disputes，Provisions on civil joint and several liability for the platform。At the same time，Also emphasized force majeure、When third party damage occurs，Online travel operators’ rescue obligations，Damage caused by failure to provide timely assistance，Should be jointly and severally liable for the expanded damage。

Talk about qualifications，There is further clarification in the new regulations。Article 7 of the consultation draft emphasizes the actual business license，That is, actually engaged in solicitation、Organization、Host offline tourism activities，188bet online sports betting Online travel operators that provide travel-related services stipulated in Article 2 of the "Implementation Rules of the Travel Agency Regulations"，A travel agency business license shall be obtained in accordance with the law。Article 8 is still clear，Platform operators shall verify the qualifications of operators on the platform and register them in accordance with the law。Operators who have not been verified and registered by the platform are not allowed to engage in online tourism business services within the platform。

A representative company as an online travel platform，Ctrip said，The "Interim Provisions" will effectively improve the legal and compliant operation level of online tourism enterprises。And increasingly perfect supervision，It will also make online travel platforms have stricter audit standards for suppliers and products，Avoid some mixed situations in the market，Thus purifying the industry environment，Better protect the legitimate rights and interests of consumers。"Currently for air tickets、Hotel and other products，We also have a strict supervision and management system。In addition to qualifications，Under daily management，For example, the air ticket platform will also pay attention to the supplier’s ticket issuance、Reschedule、Accuracy of refund and other services、Timeliness and violation complaints，And establish corresponding evaluation and reward and punishment mechanisms。188bet app ”Introduction to Ctrip related people，"Also，We have also recently joined forces with the National Information Center and other institutions to launch the "Online Accommodation Platform Service Specifications" to call for industry self-discipline。”

At present, the "Interim Provisions" are still in the stage of soliciting opinions，Open to the public for opinions，The deadline for feedback is November 10, 2019。Some insiders pointed out，I am afraid it will be difficult to end the abnormal model of “big data killing familiarity” by relying solely on platform self-discipline，And once users have doubts about whether there is "big data for familiarity" in online travel platforms in the future，You will still encounter difficulties in providing evidence。There is currently no effective way to define big data maturity in the industry，Therefore, the regulatory mechanism needs to be smoothed out as soon as possible，Let the policy be implemented smoothly。

Yang Yanfeng also said，Current difficulties in safeguarding rights、The problem of high rights protection costs，Many specific issues need to be slowly discovered by regulators and consumers，Combining the existing tourism online supervision service platform and relevant regulations，Cooperate with each other，Only in this way can the law be implemented。

*Source of this article: Economic Information Daily, forAuthor: Wei Xiayi, original title: "Online travel will face “strong supervision”》.