Over 12 mln yuan in fines issued in tourism industry crackdown

BEIJING -- Over 12 million yuan ($1.76 million) in fines were issued during the country's largest ever crackdown on its tourism industry.

From February, the tourism watchdog worked with public security, industry and commerce authorities to launch the three-month long crackdown on irregular practices in the tourism industry.

Thousands of inspectors were sent to over 13,000 tourism enterprises, according to China National Tourism Administration.

A total of 809 cases were opened, and punishment has been issued in 455 of them.

The nationwide crackdown mainly targeted practices including forced shopping at assigned stores, violation of contracts, and other types of fraud.

Yunnan Province, a popular tourism destination, introduced 22 measures in mid April to clean up the local tourism industry due to a rise in tourist complaints about fraudulent practices and poor service.