Criminal gangs plague China's tourist industry

China will continue its campaign to improve its disorderly tourism market this year, a senior official said Thursday.

The National Tourism Administration (NTA), the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, and the Ministry of Public Security held a joint video conference to discuss management of the tourism market.

Li Jinzao, director of the NTA, said at the meeting that there are tourism irregularities in many regions.

He said criminal gangs have been engaging in illegal activities and that no significant progress has been made in creating an orderly tourism market.

China will make it a priority to crack down on tourism programs which disrupt the market, particularly "unreasonably low priced and illegal one-day trips" to attract or cheat tourists.

The three government departments will also establish a consultation mechanism to strengthen supervision of the tourism market.

The NTA will also introduce a new regulation to ensure better disclosure of tourism information and publish records of poorly behaved tourists.

Conflicts between tourists and scenic spot administrators or travel agencies have often made national headlines in China. In a recent scandal, a tour guide in Yunnan province had her license revoked after she was videotaped verbally abusing visitors who didn't want to spend money in arranged shopping sites.