2026 Model Group Tour Contracts Issued, with a New Study-Tourism Contract
The Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the market regulator jointly issued the 2026 model group tour contracts (No. 5 of 2026), revising the existing templates and adding a model study-tourism contract, to be promoted nationwide from March 31, 2026.
The Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the State Administration for Market Regulation issued the Notice of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the State Administration for Market Regulation on Issuing the 2026 Edition Model Group Tour Contracts (No. WENLÜSHICHANGFA [2026] 5; index No. 357D01-16-2026-0010).
The notice points out that, in order to further standardize the order of the tourism market, improve tourism service quality and protect the lawful rights and interests of tourists and travel agency enterprises, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, together with the State Administration for Market Regulation, revised the current model group tour contracts and added the Model Study-Tourism Contract.
The notice requires that local culture and tourism administrative departments do a good job in promoting the model contracts, work with market regulation departments to guide and standardize the contract behavior of travel agencies, prevent and correct unfair standard-form clauses, guide enterprises toward healthy competition and further optimize the consumption environment of the tourism market. The 2026 edition model group tour contracts will be promoted for use nationwide from March 31, 2026.
The notice also makes clear that earlier notices such as the Model Domestic Tourism “One-Day Tour” Contract (No. LÜFA [2013] 55) and the 2014 edition Model Domestic Group Tour Contract (No. LÜFA [2014] 72 and others) are simultaneously repealed.
Reference significance for charter travel: With the revision of the model group tour contracts and the addition of the model study-tourism contract, travel agencies and tourists should uniformly use the new model contracts when signing package tour contracts, which is the contract standard that must be followed for the compliant operation of charter tourism products.
(This article is compiled from documents publicly released on the government information disclosure platform of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.)