Zero Dollar Tour

Name : Akiko Nada Atsmara ID : 55920719

International Tourism Management 2012

Economics for Tourism Quiz
Question: What is a “zero-dollar tour”? How does it affect Thailand’s travel and tourism industry? Analyze the positive/negative effect and what should the Government do to? Zero-Dollar Tour Believed to be originated from Chinese media, the zero-dollar tour denotes a sort of inferior quality in China’s outbound package tours. Zero-dollar tours, or zero-based tour fares, are those where the tour operator allows tours without, or with very low fees. Thus providing no profit margin. Often the tour’s fees cannot cover the costs of the tour guide or the tour operators; the operators rely for income on the commissions from tourists’ shopping and expenses. This business of package tours has been showing a wide range of inferior quality since the 1980’s, along with the tour operator’s misinterpretations of product information, defects on contracted services as well as misguiding consumptions and cheating tourists at the destination. Zero-dollar tours derive their name from package tours sold mainly in China, and to a much lesser degree in Korea, which include free air fare and low-cost accommodation. China 's rapid economic growth has fostered a tourist boom among the mainland Chinese, with Southeast Asia the favorite destination, at least for now. The surge in package tour groups from China, an important source of income for the region. Since the zero-dollar tour’s prices are much lower than normal tour, and the price offered cannot cover all of the tour costs. Because of the low price offered by these tours, the tour guide forces the tourists to go shopping and they gain income from the commission charged. Some tour operators provide no salary for the tour guides, who then use unethical methods to force tourists to make purchases and thus earn commissions. Once the incredulous (and gullible) tourists, the customers of this package tour sets foot in the certain

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