Tianjin Cultural Market Law Enforcement Corps Releases Warm Travel Tips for the 2026 Winter Vacation and Spring Festival Holiday Trips

The winter vacation and Spring Festival are approaching. To ensure that you and your family enjoy a safe, joyful, and harmonious holiday, and to better safeguard the travel safety and quality of all tourists, the Tianjin Municipal Law Enforcement Corps of Cultural Market hereby issues warm reminders to the general public: when traveling during the winter vacation and Spring Festival, plan your routes reasonably and strengthen safety precautions. In the event of tourism disputes, protect your rights lawfully, in accordance with regulations, and rationally.

I. Carefully choose a travel agency. Whether signing up for a tour online or through an offline physical store, try to choose a travel agency with high visibility, honesty, trustworthiness, and a good reputation. You can also search and compare through search engines or travel websites. At the same time, check reviews and word-of-mouth of the travel agency from other users. Compare whether the itineraries and services provided by travel agencies meet your needs, and do not just compare prices and advertising content.

II. Sign a formal contract. When signing a paper or electronic travel contract with a travel agency, be sure to read the relevant content carefully and use the standard contract template jointly recommended by the industry and commerce administration and tourism management departments. Some matters or clauses must be clearly specified, such as whether the scenic spot tickets are all-inclusive tickets or just a general admission ticket for one scenic spot; the duration of the visit; the accommodation standard, including whether hot water and bathroom facilities are available, whether heating or air conditioning is provided, and the hours for hot water supply; the grade and standard of transportation; whether meals are included and the meal standards, etc.

III. Strengthen self-protection. It is best to purchase a personal accident insurance policy for yourself. Understand that travel agency liability insurance does not cover everything. Confirm that issues such as personal injury, death, or property loss of tourists occurring during the tour that fall under the responsibility of the travel agency are covered within the scope of the insurance company's compensation. If injury, illness, disability, death, or property loss is caused by the tourist's own reasons, the travel agency does not bear responsibility, and the insurance company will not provide compensation. Therefore, tourists are advised to purchase a personal accident insurance policy for themselves.

IV. Enhance safety awareness. When traveling during the holiday, tourists should pay attention to food safety, emphasize dietary hygiene, and prevent illness from entering through the mouth. Be especially careful when consuming seafood to prevent food poisoning. In severe weather such as snow and rain, pay even more attention to taking protective measures and do not linger in dangerous areas. When traveling to southern coastal areas, swimming should be arranged in an organized manner with protective measures in place to prevent incidents of swimming without permission and drowning. When traveling in complex mountainous terrain, prevent slipping, falling, and getting lost, and do not go to dangerous areas without protective facilities.

V. Travel in a civilized and healthy manner. Respect local customs, practices, and religious beliefs, abide by public order and social ethics, foster an awareness of civilized travel, cherish the ecological environment, spread positive energy, protect cultural relics and historic sites, take good care of public facilities, abide by the convention on civilized behavior, create a civilized and harmonious tourism environment, advocate a green and low-carbon consumption concept, promote a healthy and civilized lifestyle, and resolutely curb waste on the tip of the tongue.

VI. Beware of price traps. Be vigilant against false advertising at shopping venues, and "shopping traps" such as inducement or deception to spend. Proactively reject "unreasonable low-price tours" and do not blindly pursue cheap deals. Be cautious when purchasing items whose authenticity you cannot discern. When consuming on tours, be sure to keep travel contracts, payment receipts, shopping invoices, and other vouchers. Do not sign "false contracts" or "dual contracts" with travel agencies. When shopping on tours, ask for an invoice bearing the same name as the shopping enterprise for subsequent rights protection.

VII. Protect rights reasonably and lawfully. During the tour, if a dispute arises, remain rational and protect your rights properly. When the service provided by the travel agency fails to meet the contractual agreement, or when the travel agency breaches the contract first, tourists should consider how to minimize losses to the extent possible, request the travel agency to proceed according to the original plan, and then claim compensation in accordance with relevant regulations, rather than terminating the contract regardless of objective circumstances and creating unnecessary passivity. At the same time, preserve and collect relevant evidence. If you discover unlicensed "black travel agencies," "black outlets," "black guides," or "black vehicles" with incomplete licenses, report them promptly to tourism, industry and commerce, transportation, and other management departments.

VIII. Guard against being deceived. Enhance risk prevention awareness and do not make large one-time payments for travel expenses. Rationally choose tourism products and travel routes based on your own circumstances. It is best to pay travel expenses on a per-tour basis. Be wary of business practices where travel agencies, through the introduction of membership cards, prepaid cards, or other means, organize installment travel or bundle multiple itineraries together for sale, effectively collecting large amounts of travel prepayments in disguised form. Such business models carry certain risks. If a travel agency absconds due to operational problems, it can easily cause economic losses to tourists.

IX. Never participate in illegal gambling activities. The general public is urged to be highly vigilant against unscrupulous individuals who, under the guise of tourism, organize tourists to travel abroad to engage in or participate in illegal gambling activities. We hereby remind everyone to consciously resist overseas gambling projects and avoid being drawn into gambling scams, which can cause unnecessary losses.

X. Beware of illegal fundraising traps. Some unscrupulous tourism service agencies, under the pretext of investing in tourism projects, use methods such as free travel, stored-value investments, and consumption rebates to lure the public into investing. Such behavior is suspected of illegal fundraising, fraud, and other illegal and criminal activities, seriously infringing upon the legitimate rights and interests of consumers. The general public is reminded to be vigilant in tourism consumption, enhance awareness of prevention, and choose tourism projects rationally, soberly, and prudently. Do not be misled by "new types" of tourism projects and services, so as to avoid falling into the trap of illegal fundraising. If members of the public discover tourism enterprises engaged in illegal fundraising activities, they can report to the public security, financial departments, or culture and tourism authorities at all levels. Relevant departments will severely crack down on illegal fundraising activities in accordance with the law and their duties to protect the legitimate rights and interests of tourists.

At the same time, passengers traveling by ship are reminded to prepare valid passports (with validity of more than six months from the end date of the itinerary), valid visas, and original identity cards before departure. Regarding visa matters for cruise tourism, be sure to consult the travel agency before signing up. Generally, Chinese citizens' passports require a visa for each destination, so arrangements should be made early according to the travel itinerary to avoid visa issues delaying holiday travel.

If you encounter difficulties or tourism disputes during your journey, both parties should resolve conflicts through adjustments and corrections in accordance with the content agreed upon in the contract, and must not take extreme actions that may intensify the conflict. If negotiation fails, you can promptly call the local tourism management department for complaints and rights protection. Alternatively, within 90 days from the end date of the travel contract, you can call the 12345 government service hotline to file a complaint with the tourism administrative supervision department of the place where the travel contract was signed or where the respondent is located, and protect your rights lawfully and rationally.

Wishing the general public a pleasant journey and a prosperous New Year!