Opinion | Sanya scuba tours accused of price gouging with photo packages

Diving packages, priced at 400 yuan to 500 yuan, would usually include “some photos”, but tour operators would often make visitors pay more for separate photo packages.

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Hainan island is a popular destination for mainland Chinese and overseas tourists during the Lunar New Year. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 12:28pm, 18 Feb 2013Updated: 5:07pm, 18 Feb 2013

Hainan authorities have come under fire once again after a recent report found scuba diving tour operators were duping tourists into paying more during the recent Spring Festival holiday.

Last year, similar allegations had immersed the province’s main city, Sanya, in scandal and tainted the island’s reputation as a sun-and-sea getaway for domestic and foreign tourists.

The report, which ran on CCTV on Saturday, said scuba tour operators and travel agencies were raking in sales commissions as high as 50 per cent to 80 per cent and were able to do so by forcing tourists to take “underwater photographs”.

The diving packages, priced at 400 yuan to 500 yuan, would usually include “some photos”, but some tour operators would often make visitors pay more for separate photo packages that were priced differently.

The packages could cost between 360 yuan (HK$450) for three photos and 780 yuan (HK$970) for 24 photos, according to the CCTV report.

Those who refused to pay for separate photo packages alleged they were taken into the water “abruptly” without being taught how to equalise pressure when changing depths, the report said.