Nearly 300 Taiwanese tourists abandoned in Phu Quoc?

According to Taiwan's tourism authority, 292 Taiwanese tourists purchased tour packages with Taipei-based We Love Tour to travel to Phu Quoc during the Lunar New Year holiday.

However, the tour group found themselves in an ironic situation upon arriving in Vietnam and being abandoned by the aforementioned company. News of the group's troubles first emerged on February 10th, after a Taiwanese tourist complained about the incident on social media, according to Focus Taiwan .

The tour group departed Taiwan on Saturday, during the Lunar New Year holiday, to travel to Phu Quoc Island for a 5-day trip.

The tour guide is asking the tourists to pay extra.

According to the same report, upon arriving in Phu Quoc, the group was met by a local travel company, Winner Vietnam International Travel Co., Ltd., who informed them that each individual would have to pay an additional $720 USD. Those who did not pay would have to continue the trip on their own or return to Taiwan.

Other members of the Taiwanese tour groups also posted on Facebook a written statement from Winner explaining that the company had decided to request additional payment because the Taiwanese partner had not transferred enough money for the tour to continue.

Speaking to Thanh Nien newspaper on February 13th, Mr. Ha Tuan Minh, Director of Winner Vietnam International Tourism Co., Ltd., said: The company had a contract to welcome three groups of tourists from We Love Tour on three charter flights from February 10th to 14th, but on January 31st, the company canceled the contract because We Love Tour did not make payments as promised.

"However, on February 9th, a group of 292 people from We Love Tour arrived in Phu Quoc by plane but had no transportation, no hotel reservations, and no tour guide. Therefore, We Love Tour repeatedly pleaded with us to assist the group, and for humanitarian reasons, we agreed to arrange four buses and book hotels to serve them. The payment deadline was February 11th, but We Love Tour still did not transfer the money, so we announced the termination of the program," Mr. Minh said.

The group of Taiwanese tourists continued their tour of Phu Quoc today.

During this time, Winner also worked with the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Ho Chi Minh City and the Taiwan Tourism Bureau regarding the tour group's situation and proposed solutions. They agreed that Winner would collect the money directly from the tourists, and the Taiwanese company would then reimburse them. However, many tourists disagreed.

"After February 12th, those tourists who hadn't paid had no accommodation, and once again, we received a second request for assistance from the Taiwanese side. Therefore, we arranged accommodation for 292 tourists at the Sailing Hotel, and from noon yesterday until now, the entire group has continued to visit many places in Phu Quoc. Regarding the service fee for the group, We Love Tour signed a promissory note to be paid on February 26th, in the presence of all parties during an online meeting," Mr. Minh said, adding that he had reported the entire incident to the authorities in Kien Giang province.

According to Mr. Minh, the group will be heading to the airport to return to Taiwan tomorrow, February 14th, and his company has already spent over 3 billion VND on the group. In total, the company arranged 4 buses with 45 seats each on February 9th, 18 buses on February 10th, and 10 people fluent in Chinese to assist...

Tourist group visiting Phu Quoc

Taiwan's tourism authority said it will conduct a further investigation to determine whether We Love Tour violated regulations, according to Focus Taiwan .

According to Thanh Niên 's investigation, We Love Tour has also not yet paid the cost of the charter flight back to Taiwan to a Vietnamese airline.

Quick overview at 8 PM: News summary for the 4th day of Tet (Lunar New Year).

Kien Giang Department of Tourism speaks out

Regarding the case of nearly 300 Taiwanese tourists stranded in Phu Quoc, on the afternoon of February 13th, Mr. Bui Quoc Thai, Director of the Kien Giang Department of Tourism, stated that a team of inspectors will be sent to Phu Quoc tomorrow (February 14th) to verify and clarify the matter.

The authorities will carefully review the contract between the two travel companies to determine the appropriate course of action.

(Hoang Trung)

Taiwan's tourism authority is working with the Tourism Quality Assurance Association (TQAA) to negotiate with Vietnam and ensure the safe return of Taiwanese tourists affected by the dispute.

Regarding tourists' rights, TQAA public relations representative Ringo Lee said that anyone who encounters a similar situation where their rights are violated should request a receipt or invoice so they can provide it to the TQAA.

Mr. Lee stated that the association will assist tourists in such situations in resolving disputes and claiming insurance when necessary.

Source link: https://thanhnien.vn/gan-300-du-khach-dai-loan-bi-bo-roi-o-phu-quoc-185240213085809658.htm