According to Xinhua News Agency，Around 17:45, July 5, local time in Thailand，Two boats carrying a total of 133 tourists (127 of them Chinese tourists)，Encountered a severe storm on the way back to Phuket, Thailand，Capsize occurred。According to the latest news released by the rescue command center on the evening of July 7，The number of victims in this accident has risen to 41，Most of the deceased are Chinese，15 missing people (all Chinese)。Said by many tourists who escaped from the "Phoenix"，They subscribe to "big through different platforms、One-day Diving in Little Emperor Island" project。

This is a sad travel incident，Arouses our basic thinking about tourism，That’s safety。How to ensure travel safety，It is very clear in the traditional travel agency business，But after the rise of online travel platforms，These basic things seem to be back to the starting point。In the new context of the Internet，The safety issue of online travel has not yet attracted attention，The tragedy has already happened。

This article hopes to be in the context of this incident，Calling for the establishment of a security mechanism for online platforms as soon as possible，Behind safety is responsible behavior，The responsibilities and powers of online travel are relatively weak，Resulting in endless security incidents，We specifically call for a definition of the responsibilities and powers of current online travel platforms，Clear the scope of liability for online travel platforms，Explore related systems。

Traditional travel agencies’ business is directly related to the entire tourism process，Therefore，Travel routes or travel products sold through travel agencies，Travel agencies bear relevant responsibilities，This is in the Tourism Law、"Tourism Complaint Measures"、There are clear definitions in the "Travel Agency Regulations"。

In order to ensure the implementation of this responsibility，Article 13 of the "Travel Agency Regulations" implemented on May 1, 2009 clearly stipulates that "travel agencies shall within 3 working days from the date of obtaining the travel agency business license，Open a special quality deposit account in a bank designated by the tourism administrative department of the State 188bet online sports betting Council，Deposit quality deposit，Or submit a bank guarantee with a legally obtained guarantee amount not less than the corresponding quality guarantee amount to the licensing tourism administrative department。Travel agency operating domestic tourism business and inbound tourism business，A quality deposit of 200,000 yuan should be deposited；Travel agency operating outbound tourism business，The quality guarantee deposit should be increased by 1.2 million yuan。”Article 14 stipulates: “The travel agency has not established a branch to engage in domestic tourism business and inbound tourism business，Should add 50,000 yuan to its quality deposit account；There is no branch operating outbound tourism business，Should add 300,000 yuan to its quality deposit account。”

Pass the Tourism Law、"Tourism Complaint Measures"、"Travel Agency Regulations" and a series of laws and regulations，And quality guarantee system，Ensures that traditional travel agencies are responsible for the tourism process，Also guaranteed，Once an infringement event occurs (such as a security incident)，Clear territorial management，It also clarified the responsibilities and obligations of the travel agency to first provide rescue and handle the incident，The travel agency also needs to pay the compensation first。

But in an online travel platform，Although online tourism is in the tourism business，But it seems that except for the Consumer Rights Protection Law，Other constraints from the tourism department，It seems difficult to substantively supervise it。Online travel established an online travel platform under the slogan of “technologically guilt-free”，Extending tentacles from domestic tourism to international tourism，From air tickets、Hotel，To the scenic spot、Shopping、Vacation、Medical、Health care、Extended in various fields such as beauty，Various products sold、Good and bad，A substantial tourism operation has been formed，But if something happens，But there is no tourism department that can supervise it，From this perspective，Online travel has become the de facto tourism exemption department。

But in fact，There is a problem with the products sold on the online travel platform，For example, this Phuket incident，Maybe many travel platforms are still exempt from liability in fact。

2. Why are online travel platforms exempt from liability?

Why are online travel platforms exempt from liability？Because of the current laws below，It is difficult to assign responsibility，Even if responsibility can be defined，There is no system to ensure the implementation of responsibilities。

1. "Technology is not guilty, I am just a sharing platform"

The biggest excuse of online travel platforms is “technical innocence”，I just created a resource sharing platform，I cannot identify the shared resources one by one。Of course this is also the biggest excuse for Chinese online merchants，Although there have been some changes over the 188bet online sports betting years，But in the vertical category of online travel，It is still a mainstream phenomenon。

2. No entity, no guarantee, no responsibility

Many online travel platforms，At the beginning of the tourism business，In addition to having a company website (or official account)，Other possible companies are not even registered，Basically a “nothing” company，Even slightly more formal online platforms are all asset-light，Almost no offline entities，Company guarantee is almost non-existent。

At the same time, the company has no physical support，Not like traditional travel agencies，There may be a person directly responsible、Directly responsible unit，Able to determine responsibility point-to-point，Defining the entire tourism process with a single tourism product，Also makes it difficult to determine responsibility。

3. Company territorial exemption

Many online travel platforms are registered in places or even abroad，Or a remote place in the country，And you can work randomly around the world，Once something happens，Consumers find that they need to protect their rights locally，Basically hopeless，Equivalent to exemption from liability。

Therefore，The nature of the online travel platform itself determines its exemption from liability under China’s existing system。

Although the "Consumer Rights Protection Law" stipulates that consumers enjoy the "right to safety、Right to know、Option、Fair trading rights、Right to compensation、The right to be tongue-tied、Right to be informed、Respect the right”，But online travel platforms still have strategies to achieve exemption，Especially when facing individual consumers，More operational。Basically，Existing online travel platform，You can avoid exemption through six strategies: change、pressure、Drag、block、Fee、Withdraw。

1.Change

Change，Just modify the data，Change the facts，Change quickly。Online travel platforms are good at media control，Using online public opinion and industry connections，Guide public opinion、Guide public opinion、Distorted incident，To fish in troubled waters。This kind of thing is very simple。

The author once encountered something，A team of college students booked student tickets for a certain attraction on a large online travel platform (the webpage shows that college students only need to show their student ID to enjoy the student ticket discount)，But the scenic spot refuses to admit that there is such a regulation，A team of college students called a platform to complain，Request processing。The platform’s solution is，In one minute，Delete the words "College students only need to show their student ID to enjoy student ticket discounts" in the original webpage，Then he refused to admit that this happened，It is also recommended that college student groups complain to the local consumer association about scenic spots。

This is an example of a small change。As for many consumers on the Internet who have encountered fraud or other incidents on online travel platforms，Many facts have been tampered with by these platforms，Distorted public opinion。

2. Pressure

pressure，Just through network pressure，Internet trolls are putting pressure on you，This online travel platform is very tricky。

Also，Because all your information is in their hands，There will also be offline threats，Or offline violence。These have also been reported in relevant reports。

3.Drag

Two big costs in personal rights protection: time cost、Money cost。

Online travel platform uses drag characters，It can increase consumers’ time cost infinitely。

Different territories, drag!

Process obstacle, delay!

Territory protection, drag!

It takes an unbearable time to defend personal rights。In the end, the consumer considers himself unlucky。

4.Hinder

block，If it involves overseas events or large-scale events，You also need to personally coordinate with overseas parties or parties，Various obstacles in the process，Become a de facto obstacle。

In addition, there are local protections in the local area，Or local related person、Local media blocked it。

5. Fee

Fee，That is, the online platform has a dedicated legal team，Use the drag formula、pressing word formula、Change tactic，Significantly increase the cost for individual consumers to protect their rights，Time taken until final、Energy、Financial resources are completely disproportionate to the compensation received for defending rights，It may be difficult to succeed，Thus allowing latecomers to retreat when faced with difficulties。

Using group fighting will kill you!

6.Withdraw

Withdraw，Nature of online travel platform，You can still run away at any time，Exit at any time。Even if responsibility is determined，Cannot be held accountable，Equivalent to exemption from liability。

Let you draw water from a bamboo basket in vain!

How harmful is the liability of online travel platforms，It can be explained from three aspects:

1. Forming a situation where bad money drives out good money and harms the tourism industry

Online travel platforms are de facto exempt from liability，It brings about a vicious circle of competition for low-priced and low-quality products，So I know it is false、Knowing fraud，Many online travel platforms are also unceremonious subordinates，The impact is caused by low prices。In the online travel boom of 2013-2017，Many excellent traditional travel agencies have gone bankrupt due to the impact of low-price travel routes。Because I am traveling，Service is very important，After so many years of development，Low quality and high price are rarely found，A consensus has been reached on products with balanced quality and price，But the impact of online travel platforms，Price has become the only 188bet online sports betting reference，Excellent service and excellent experience are difficult to reflect，The phenomenon of bad money driving out good money occurs frequently，Virtually shaking the foundation of tourism。

Finally in this low-quality and low-price competition，It will only result in the lack of excellent tourist routes，The departure of outstanding tourism talents，

2. Expelling outstanding talents and destroying the foundation of tourism

What is the foundation of travel experience？Safety first，Then an excellent experience。

The liability situation of online travel platforms，Especially disclaimer for foreign products，Brings huge risks to the entire tourism，A guaranteed trip，It turned into an adventure without guarantees，Destroyed the foundation of tourism safety。

At the same time, the second foundation of tourism is high-quality experience，Travel is not an ordinary commodity，Invisible and without substance，It will only bring a wonderful experience in the end。Online travel platforms bring low-quality and low-price competition，The result is the loss of outstanding tourism talents，Talent is the foundation of an industry。

The loss of tourism talent caused by online travel，For the entire tourism industry，Not improved，But the level is declining。What the online travel platform has to do is，Regardless of quality，Bring the price to my level，Then I will spend money to defeat you。As for quality，Ignored it long ago。As for experience，Never thought about it。This is actually destroying the foundation of tourism。

3. Low cost and broken promise，causing the loss of social integrity system

From the perspective of the strategy of how online travel platforms implement liability exemption，Nothing is comparable to the integrity system，On the surface, it is a challenge to the traditional moral model of new technologies，In fact, it is not honest、No rules、Not responsible。。

But, being a hooligan with high technology is not a hooligan?

Disclaimer for this new trend，It will only cause the loss of the social integrity system to a greater extent。

This article believes that the exemption of online travel platforms should be discussed from an institutional perspective:

1.The law further clarifies the scope of responsibilities of online travel platforms

Recommended for online travel platforms，Introduction of special "Online Travel Platform Management Regulations"，In view of the scope of operations that online travel platforms can operate、Business Process、Related product categories、Corresponding responsibilities、Relevant obligations、The competent authorities and other aspects can clearly stipulate it，Don’t make online travel platforms a lawless place。Of course，Clear responsibilities and rights are also conducive to the healthy and orderly development of online travel platforms，Enable online travel platforms to provide assistance for tourism development。

2. Online travel platform deposit system

Today’s online travel has indeed touched every aspect of the tourism industry and non-tourism industries，It is recommended to implement a deposit system for online travel platforms。

Compare with traditional travel 188bet online sports betting agency deposit system，Factual deposit system in the tourism department under the jurisdiction of the State Council，According to scale in the country、Different levels of deposit deposits for traffic and turnover。

Foreign business according to country、Business Scope、Product category、Traffic、Different levels of margin deposits for turnover, etc.。

3. Clear the territorial management system of online travel platforms in reality

要Clear the territorial management system of online travel platforms in reality，Online travel platforms must have a territorial filing system to rely on，Allow consumers to clearly find the location and jurisdiction of the corresponding company。

4. Establishment of a unified online travel network rights protection platform

Difficulties in safeguarding rights in online travel，A unified online tourism rights protection platform should be established in all provinces，There is a specialized agency under the Ministry of Culture and Tourism at the national level，The tourism authorities in each province can directly handle the relevant undertakings。

Conclusion:

The Phuket incident continues，May a miracle happen，May the deceased rest in peace，But I hope that future travel can be more protected，Hope that online travel platforms can assume corresponding responsibilities，Promote the healthy development of my country’s tourism，Bring us a better travel experience。

You and I will inevitably have a relationship with online travel platforms，May it be healthy and not barbaric，May it be orderly rather than excessive。

*thisText source: WeChat public platform "Bokan Culture and Tourism" (ID:Bokanwenlv）, forAuthor: Liu JieWu, original title: "Opinion︱Phuket incident: How long can online travel platforms be exempt from liability？！》