Tour operators vote for shake-up

Alleged price-gouging and kickbacks by New Zealand tour operators catering for the Chinese market have angered the tourism industry, sparking a shake-up in the rules governing their operation.

To clean up "unsavoury practices", new finance rules and frequent audits of the 24 New Zealand tour operators catering for the Chinese market were approved at the Inbound Tourism Operators Council annual meeting in Dunedin, immediate past-president Don Gunn said.

Some operators had been charging less than cost for tours, and making up the difference by taking their tours to certain shops for commission.

The practice "denigrated" Chinese tourists' experience of New Zealand, Mr Gunn said.

Strict rules to control the market had been set up when New Zealand became an "approved destination" for mainland Chinese tourists in 1999, and only approved travel agents in China could book approved inbound tours in New Zealand.

The tour operators had to belong to the council.

However, policing of those rules had been lax, and at times Chinese travel agents had booked tours with non-approved operators.

Mr Gunn was confident the new rules, with stricter scrutiny of travel visas by the Immigration Service, would clean up the problem.

- NZPA