The visitors booked a five-day tour to Phu Quoc through We Love Tour Company in Taipei and arrived in the island in the Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang on February 10. However, there were no vehicles, hotels, and tour guides waiting for them.
According to Mr. Ha Tuan Minh, Director of the Vietnam Winner International Travel Company, the company signed a contract with We Love Tour Company to receive three delegations of tourists who arrived in Phu Quoc on chartered flights from February 10 to 14. However, Vietnam Winner International Travel Company issued a contract cancellation letter on January 31 because We Love Tour did not fulfill their payment commitment.
The Taiwan company suggested the local travel agency Winner Vietnam support the visitors and promised to pay on Feb. 11, but again failed to pay.
Vietnam's Winner International Travel Co. Ltd spent more than VND3 billion to rent vehicles, tour guides, and book hotels for the tourists, Minh said.
The company made a report on the matter and sent it to the police of Phu Quoc City, the Inspectorate of the Department of Tourism of Kien Giang Province, he added.
Mr. Ha Tuan Minh also worked with the Tourism Bureau of Taiwan in Ho Chi Minh City and Taiwan’s tourism administration to find solutions to solve the problem. All parties have agreed that Winner will directly collect payment from the tourists, and the Taiwanese company will refund the tourists when they receive invoices from Winner. However, many tourists do not agree with this arrangement.
We Love Tour Company has committed to paying the Vietnamese travel agent TWD4.4 million (VND3.4 billion) on February 26. They have to compensate 1.5 times the amount for payment failure, Minh noted.
In addition, the Taiwan travel company with which the tourists booked has still not paid Bamboo Airways for the tickets of flights carrying its customers to return home. But the airline still flies We Love Tour’s customers home based on humanitarian considerations.
Chief Representative of the Tourism Bureau of Taiwan in Ho Chi Minh City, Mr. Derek Chou had a meeting with Taiwanese visitors before seeing off them returning home.
He expressed his sincere thanks to Vietnam's Winner International Travel Company, the airline, and local authorities for giving assistance to the tourists and committed to clarifying the case as well as imposing a fine on the Taiwanese travel company.
Mr. Bui Quoc Thai, Director of the Department of Tourism of Kien Giang Province, stated that the incident that occurred during the early days of the Lunar New Year 2024 directly affected the tourist groups as well as the tourism image of the locality. The province will also strictly implement penalties for violations of local businesses.
