Recently, Xining, Qinghai Province, innovated its tourism dispute resolution mechanism by launching the first-ever advance compensation for travel agency quality deposits in the province. A consumer dispute involving 10 tourists, who were unable to get a refund from the travel agency, was resolved in just three working days with the intervention and mediation of relevant departments, and all 140,000 yuan of prepaid tour fees were refunded.

In the past, when faced with similar disputes, administrative departments often had no choice but to mediate repeatedly. If the company was ultimately unable to fulfill its obligations, tourists might have to resort to arbitration or litigation to protect their rights. Now, not only in Qinghai, but also in Hubei, Hainan, Jiangxi, and other places, different approaches to resolving tourism disputes are being explored.

Some authorities have legally utilized tourism service quality deposits, while others have used funds from relevant government departments for advance compensation. Still others have adopted a new approach to dispute resolution, relying on digital platforms and special compensation funds, prioritizing resolving tourist losses before clarifying liability and pursuing compensation. How can tourism dispute resolution bridge the "last mile" in protecting tourists' rights?

Last month, the Xining Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism received a complaint from tourists via the 12345 hotline. A local international travel agency had arranged for 10 tourists to travel to Europe, but due to a financial dispute between the travel agency and the local tour operator, the tourists were stranded at the airport in another city, and the entire itinerary was cancelled.

Gao Qin, Deputy Director of the Xining Municipal Bureau of Cultural Market Comprehensive Law Enforcement: Our tourists were stranded at the airport in another city, and their entire outbound trip was canceled. The tourists suffered losses in tour fees and incurred expenses due to the delay. After receiving this complaint hotline, we coordinated with the Chengzhong District Bureau of Culture and Tourism and the Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism, and arrived at the scene immediately to mediate. During the complaint handling process, both parties signed a written agreement stipulating that the local outbound travel agency would provide a full refund to the tourists.

However, due to the company's cash flow difficulties, even with multiple fundraising efforts, approximately 140,000 yuan could not be paid out, leading to a stalemate in the mediation.

Gao Qin, Deputy Director of the Xining Municipal Bureau of Cultural Market Comprehensive Law Enforcement: After calculation, there is still 140,000 yuan that cannot be paid to the tourists, and the mediation has come to an abrupt halt. Based on the management regulations for tourism service quality deposits (travel agency quality deposits) and the regulations for handling tourism complaints, we have, after assessment, initiated the advance compensation mechanism for travel agency quality deposits.

The quality assurance deposit, also known as the tourism service quality guarantee deposit, refers to a special fund paid by the travel agency, supervised, approved and allocated by the cultural and tourism department, and used to protect the rights and interests of tourists. It is deposited by the travel agency into a special bank account in accordance with the law.

Gao Qin, Deputy Director of the Xining Municipal Bureau of Cultural Market Comprehensive Law Enforcement: The quality assurance deposit must be paid into the designated account. Outbound travel agencies are uniformly required to pay 1.4 million yuan, while domestic travel agencies are required to pay 200,000 yuan.

The newly revised "Measures for Handling Tourism Complaints" further clarifies that if the respondent is a travel agency, and the travel agency causes losses to tourists who have prepaid travel expenses due to its dissolution, bankruptcy, or other reasons, or if the travel agency illegally refuses to perform its contract, causing tourists to be stranded and incurring necessary and reasonable expenses, and if no agreement can be reached through mediation, the cultural and tourism authorities may use the tourism service quality deposit for compensation or advance payment in accordance with the law.

Since this is the first time that quality assurance deposits have been used in this way in Qinghai Province, Gao Qin believes that how to use the deposits legally, compliantly, and efficiently has become the key challenge in handling the case.

We conducted an assessment in accordance with relevant mechanisms and national regulations to ensure that every step was legal and compliant;

We had to repeatedly coordinate with the guarantee bank to clarify the documents for the allocation, the verification of the guarantee, and the process for transferring funds... In the end, we completed all the procedures in three working days and fully paid the tourists' tour fees.

Zhong Lina, executive dean of the China Culture and Tourism Big Data Research Institute at Beijing Second Foreign Language University, believes that the significance of the Xining, Qinghai case is not just about "transferring the money," but that administrative agencies must verify the contractual relationship, payment facts, non-performance, refund amount, and conditions for the use of the quality assurance deposit one by one, so as to protect tourists and ensure that the special funds are used legally and with sufficient evidence.

Zhong Lina, Executive Dean of the China Culture and Tourism Big Data Research Institute at Beijing Second Foreign Language University, stated: Article 31 of the Tourism Law of the People's Republic of China and Article 15 of the Regulations on Travel Agencies clearly stipulate how to use travel agencies' quality assurance deposits. The Measures for Handling Tourism Complaints, which came into effect on March 15, 2026, provides even clearer regulations on how to use quality assurance deposits. This case can be seen as a concrete implementation of the new system at the local level. It is not simply coordinating a refund, but rather the administrative agency legally initiating the use of the pre-deposited statutory guarantee deposit.

In Gao Qin's view, one direct change brought about by this mechanism is that it has promoted the transformation of tourism dispute resolution from voluntary compensation by enterprises to administrative bottom-line guarantee.

Previously, whether tourists could receive compensation depended entirely on whether the travel agency had cash on hand. If a business was experiencing financial difficulties, the mediation agreement would not be effectively implemented. This new mechanism ensures that when a business is unable to pay compensation, the cultural and tourism authorities can legally allocate funds from the quality assurance deposit for advance compensation.

The roles and responsibilities have changed. Previously, the cultural and tourism departments acted merely as intermediaries, mediating and persuading, lacking a legally mandated means of direct compensation. Now, this mechanism clearly defines the responsibilities of the city and county (district) levels. Our city-level (cultural and tourism department) has the authority to decide on the allocation of the quality assurance fund; the county (district) (cultural and tourism department) is responsible for preliminary mediation and initial review, forming a complete chain of action. The administrative departments directly guarantee payment, truly lowering the threshold for the public to protect their rights.

Reporters found that, in addition to resolving tourism disputes through quality deposits legally paid by travel agencies in Xining, Qinghai, new approaches to handling tourism disputes are also being explored in places like Chibi, Hubei, and Lushan, Jiangxi.

Dan Jifeng, captain of the Comprehensive Law Enforcement Brigade for Culture and Tourism Market in Chibi City, Hubei Province, introduced that the local area began to explore advance compensation for tourism consumption around the National Day last year. After tourists complain, relevant personnel first assess the facts and responsibilities, and if the conditions are met, advance compensation can be made.

But Jifeng: After the Culture and Tourism Bureau made the initial compensation, we then pursued the company for further expenses. On May 3rd of this year, a tourist with a child was dining at a star-rated hotel when he accidentally slipped and fell, cutting a vein in his hand. He sought help through the 12345 citizen hotline and provided hospital invoices, totaling 8,000 yuan. The Culture and Tourism Bureau initially paid 8,000 yuan for this, and later coordinated with the hotel to provide further compensation. According to the "Safety Production Law of the People's Republic of China" and some standards in the tourism industry, the venue must bear this cost in the event of such an incident.

According to local policies, five types of situations can be handled quickly with advance compensation: those where the facts are clear, the responsibility is clear, and the evidence is sufficient; those where the operator's responsibility caused damage to the tourist's personal property; and those where there is a clear responsible party who has failed or is unable to make timely compensation. After compensation is paid, an investigation will be conducted to confirm the situation. The tourism-related enterprise will be contacted to deal with the violation, collect the compensation, and the compensation will be returned to the relevant functional unit's account. The case will then be archived and closed.

Similar explorations are unfolding in more places. Since August 2023, Hainan has promoted the "Hainan Worry-Free Travel" tourism consumption complaint advance compensation platform. After tourists submit sufficient and authentic evidence, the platform can quickly process the complaint and initiate advance compensation. In June of this year, Lushan City in Jiangxi Province issued a trial measure for advance compensation in tourism consumption disputes, establishing a special fund for advance compensation in tourism consumption disputes based on the "One-Click Lushan Travel" digital platform. According to Zhong Lina, these mechanisms differ in their funding sources and scope of application, but they all point to a common direction:

The common goal is to protect the rights and interests of tourists, to advance the protection process, to first resolve the practical difficulties faced by tourists, and then to legally implement the responsibilities of the operating entities.

Zhong Lina believes that for tourist destinations, a stable, transparent, and predictable rights protection mechanism builds tourists' trust in the entire tourism market. In the future, further developing replicable and executable standard procedures will better bridge the "last mile" in protecting tourists' rights.

Zhong Lina: The next step would be to replicate a set of procedures, such as establishing standardized guidelines for the use of quality assurance deposits, to better facilitate compensation. This would also reduce the public's expectations of travel risks, maintain the reputation of destinations, and build a more stable foundation of trust for the high-quality development of tourism consumption and the tourism industry. (Source: China National Radio)