MCT and NFRA Warn Against Consumer Rights Infringements in the Name of “Insurance Client Travel”
In response to schemes luring consumers into irregular tour groups under names such as “insurance client travel subsidies” or “free trips from insurers,” the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the financial regulator issued a risk alert advising consumers to verify events, choose qualified agencies and sign written package tour contracts.
Recently, there has been a phenomenon in society of using false advertising such as “exclusive travel subsidies for policy clients,” “free travel from insurance companies” and “exclusive offers for insurance and wealth-management clients” to induce consumers to join irregular tour groups, infringing on consumers’ lawful rights and interests and seriously disrupting the order of the tourism market. To this end, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the National Financial Regulatory Administration issued a risk alert.
The risk alert lists common tactics under the name of “insurance client travel”: first, false operator qualifications, falsely claiming that an insurance company organizes tour groups or illegally entrusting others to lead tours; second, low-price lures, attracting consumers with ultra-low prices such as “free trips” and “exclusive benefits” while arbitrarily raising prices and changing itineraries midway; third, non-compliant contracting procedures that evade the use of the official model group tour contract; and fourth, hidden traps in itineraries, profiting through forced or disguised forced shopping.
The risk alert reminds consumers: verify the authenticity of activities and treat “insurance-exclusive travel” promoted and invited only through private individual channels with caution; choose legally qualified travel agencies and personally sign a written package tour contract, and lawful rights and interests can be protected by signing the Ministry of Culture and Tourism’s 2026 model group tour contract, while information such as the organizing agency, the receiving agency and the tour guide can be verified through the National Tourism Regulatory Service WeChat public account; avoid “goods not matching the description” by requiring the itinerary to be attached to the contract; clarify the method of dispute resolution; and build a solid safety line of defense, reporting suspected illegal or irregular conduct via the 12345 hotline.
Reference significance for charter travel: The alert emphasizes “choosing a regular travel agency,” “signing a written package tour contract” and “verifying the information of the organizing agency and the receiving agency,” which are directly related to the compliant sale and contract standardization of charter tourism products, and can serve as a reference for reminding consumers of legitimate channels.
(This article is compiled from materials publicly released on the government portal website of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.)