Recently.
Small-group tours have attracted a lot of consumer attention.
In this trend.
Some bloggers and Internet celebrities began to "plant grass" and form groups on the Internet.
However. After the group is successful, the tourists are subcontracted to others.
The promised small group turned into a large group of several dozen people.
The service is even more compromised.
The potential of small group tours is unleashed.
High-quality tourism will become.
The main theme of the development of the tourism industry.
In recent years, as the post-80s and post-90s generations who pursue personalized and in-depth tours have become the main force of tourism, the demand for small group tour products is increasing.
The reporter saw on a number of tourism platforms that a variety of small group tour products are very rich, and most of these groups require 3 people to form a group. The customer service of the Beijing Liberty International Travel franchise store told the "China Consumer Daily" reporter: "Now more and more people choose small group tours, especially private groups and customized groups, which can arrange attractions, accommodation, and travel time according to your needs." ”
The reporter's investigation found that the ** of small group tours is much higher than that of large group tours. The same is a 5-day and 4-night tour in Beijing, and a large group tour requires more than 500 yuan, while the ** of private groups and customized groups ranges from one or two thousand yuan to more than 10,000 yuan.
According to data, the orders for customized tours during the New Year's Day holiday in 2024 will increase by 290% year-on-year in 2023 and 25% compared with New Year's Day in 2019The average order for a customized tour is about 1670,000 yuan, about 3,200 yuan per capita, 12% year-on-year.
Whether it's a large or small group tour.
There is no inherently superior or inferior between the two.
It's just that due to the difference in consumer demand.
Leads to differences in travel patterns.
* Sun Jiashan, an associate researcher at the Culture and Tourism Cadre College and a master's tutor at the Chinese Academy of Arts, told reporters: "Today's young people are more personalized in their demands for cultural and entertainment consumption. In the future, as the tourism market continues to recover, driven by consumption upgrading, high-quality tourism to meet new needs will become the main theme of the development of the tourism industry. ”
Subcontracted tours "barbaric breeding.
It is difficult for consumers to protect their rights.
After the gradual rise of small group tours, some bloggers and Internet celebrities also seized the opportunity to launch various small group tours "planting grass" notes and **, and at the same time launched services to undertake small group tours. However, the reporter's investigation found that some bloggers and Internet celebrities spent their efforts on "planting grass", but subcontracted tourism services, which damaged the rights and interests of many consumers who "pulled weeds".
The small group tour "pit avoidance sticker" posted by netizens
The reporter saw a note called "Yunnan Travel Guide" on the social platform, which attracted many netizens to watch, and the note wrote: "Yunnan small group travel only costs more than 1,000 yuan, and I can explain this matter......It also lists a number of highlights of the trip, such as "24-hour butler pick-up service, group departure every day", "selected luxury and comfortable hotels throughout the journey", "all the attractions in the itinerary are included" and so on. The blogger also deliberately wrote at the end of the post "If you have a need, send me a private message".
The reporter found that most of the "planting grass" articles on social platforms would indicate "WeChat detailed chat", and some even put links to WeChat group chats. Travel blogger Mu Mu revealed to reporters that the well-filmed and edited travel tips and articles released by some self-proclaimed travel experts are not their real travel experiences, but content produced by travel intermediaries to attract fans. After accumulating a certain number of followers, these intermediaries began to sell travel products in the name of sharing anecdotes about beautiful scenery. After accepting the deposit, they often resell the tourists to travel agencies or even "black tour guides". These travel intermediaries will ask consumers to switch from the platform to WeChat transactions, so that they can escape the supervision of the platform and evade responsibility when consumers defend their rights later.
After the reporter asked a number of regular travel agencies, it was learned that travel agencies will also post some posts on social platforms to introduce tourism products, but all contract signing and payment will be carried out in the official applet or APP, and will never use WeChat private transfer.
The capped group of 15 people became.
Large group of 50 people.
The "small packet" hides a trap.
Some "small package tours" under the banner of small group tours will subcontract some or all of the tourists after the tourists sign the contract. After subcontracting, tourists usually encounter a reduction in service, and it is difficult to protect their rights and interests.
He Rui, a consumer who lives in Henan, told reporters about his bad experience after joining a small group tour on social platforms. He saw a tourism "planting grass" article on a social platform, and reported a 5-day and 4-night trip to Beijing on WeChat. When the tour guide picked him up at the hotel, he found that the small group of 15 people he had introduced had become a large group of 50 people. He asked the tour guide questions, and the tour guide said that he took over a large group after the merger of several "outsourcing" groups, and was only responsible for leading the team, and if there was a problem, he would find an order agency to solve it. When he wanted to defend his rights, he found that the WeChat contact who transferred the money had blocked him, and the "planting grass" article introducing tourism was missing.
Ms. Mo, a consumer, participated in a small group of Beijing tours through a short ** platform, but never signed an electronic contract. The merchant said that in order to protect the rights and interests of consumers, it was necessary to sign a contract in person in Beijing. After arriving in Beijing, Ms. Mo found that the contract stated that "the actual itinerary is subject to the tour guide", which made her feel bad. Sure enough, the "hotel within the Third Ring Road" advertised in the live broadcast room became a hotel outside the Fifth Ring Road;The original visit to Tsinghua University in the contract itinerary was skipped by the tour guide with a sentence of "not open yet";The original visit to the Forbidden City was not completed because I didn't grab a ticket. After several complaints, after the platform intervened, the merchant said that she would be compensated more than 100 yuan.
Liu Tao, a partner at Beijing Huixiang Law Firm, said in an interview with reporters: "When some bloggers or anchors reach an agreement with their fans to organize group tours, it constitutes a contractual relationship between equal subjects, and the relevant provisions of the Contract Law should be applied." If there is a clear agreement on the number of people, time, and standards of the group when the contract is concluded, then these anchors or bloggers should bear the corresponding obligations. If the subcontract to another person occurs in the case of downgrading the agreed service quality, it is a unilateral breach of contract and shall bear the corresponding civil liability. As a consumer, if a deposit has been paid, you can ask the other party to bear the loss of the deposit;If you have already traveled in a group, you can ask the other party to bear the loss of the price difference between the large group and the small group, as well as the related rights protection costs. ”
Produced by the editorial department of China Consumer Daily.
* China Consumer Daily, China Consumer Network.
Reporter Li Yanjing.