Representative of Vietnam Winner International Travel Co., Ltd. confirmed that the number of Taiwanese (Chinese) tourists who were ‘abandoned’ in Phu Quoc recently was not only nearly 300 people but at least 800 people.
On February 16, the Department of Tourism of Kien Giang province said it had reported the results of verifying the case related to information that nearly 300 Taiwanese (Chinese) tourists were abandoned in Phu Quoc City, Kien Giang province. .
According to verification results, on September 12, 2023, Winner Vietnam International Travel Company Limited (Winner Company for short, headquartered in Phu Quoc City) had a record confirming the contract with We Love Company. tour is based in Taipei.
On January 24, 2024, Winner Company sent 10 price quotes to 10 groups of guests to We Love Tour Company. However, because the two companies did not agree, on January 31, 2024, Winner Company unilaterally sent a notice to stop providing services to We Love tour Company.
The Taiwanese delegation was assisted to Phu Quoc airport to return to their hometown on February 14
On February 9, 2024, the delegation of We Love tour Company arrived at Phu Quoc International Airport. Here, the tourist group did not have a car or tour guide.
At this time, We Love Tour Company contacted Winner Company to serve a group of 292 guests participating in the tour program in Phu Quoc. Winner Company agreed and contacted to rent a car to pick up and book hotel rooms for the group.
During the process of serving the group, because We Love Tour Company did not pay as agreed, Winner Company requested the group to pay an additional amount of 720 USD/person. At the same time, contact We Love tour Company about the above matter.
We Love Tour Company responded to Winner Company that it will notify tourists to pay and keep the invoice. We Love tour company will refund the tourist card payment cost of 720 USD/person.
Taiwanese tourists who were “abandoned” in Phu Quoc appeared quite tired because of an unprecedented incident during their trip.
There were 90 customers who agreed and Winner Company received payment via customers’ cards of about 1.8 million NT dollars (equivalent to 1,442 billion VND); The remaining guests disagree.
According to the Department of Tourism of Kien Giang province, although Winner Company announced unilateral termination of the contract, it still kept the previous deposit of NT$700,000, received on January 18, 2024. At the same time, we still serve guests and collect service fees. Showing that the company violated regulations when providing travel services: “There is no travel contract with businesses, tourists or representatives of tourists according to regulations.”
Pursuant to the provisions of law, inspectors of Kien Giang Department of Tourism handled administrative violations against Winner Company of 30 million VND for the above behavior.
Talking with Newspaper reporters Newspaper Mr. Ha Tuan Minh – Chairman and Director of Winner Company – said he did not agree with the verification results and was appealing the administrative sanction decision of the Department of Tourism of Kien Giang Province.
According to Mr. Minh, the company has a contract with We Love Tour Company and sent quotes for 10 Taiwanese tourist groups. The contract clearly states that if you do not deposit enough money by January 31, the above contract will no longer be valid. At the same time, Winner Company sent a notice of contract termination at the above time.
It is worth mentioning that the Taiwanese tourist group for which Winner Company sent 10 price quotes to We Love Tour Company has nothing to do with the 292 Taiwanese tourists abandoned in Phu Quoc that caused a stir in public opinion recently.
“We provided humanitarian support for this group of 292 people. The 10 groups in the contract that were canceled were other groups. There were a total of about 800 Taiwanese tourists who were “abandoned” in Phu Quoc recently, not just There were 292 guests as reported by the media.
These people were all supported by local travel companies to return to Taiwan safely. Relevant units from Taiwan thanked us for our spirit of humanitarian support. Meanwhile, the Department of Tourism determined that the above story was not correct and imposed a fine. There is no reason for us to actively support the visiting delegation and be punished. This affects the company’s reputation and the image of Phu Quoc tourism” – Mr. Minh expressed.
Previously, on Taiwan’s Fucus Taiwan page, information was posted with the content “Supporting Taiwanese tourists stranded in Vietnam”. Immediately afterwards, the incident of nearly 300 Taiwanese tourists being “abandoned” in Phu Quoc was transmitted on many domestic and foreign mass media.
The functional departments of Kien Giang province together with the Taipei Economic and Cultural Department in Ho Chi Minh City have made efforts to resolve and support the Taiwanese delegation to stay and visit according to the original plan and return to Taiwan at noon. February 14 as scheduled.
After that, the Vietnam National Tourism Administration sent a document to the Department of Tourism of Kien Giang province requesting clarification of the above information.