Newsletter
INTERIM REGULATIONS ON FOREIGN-INVESTED TRAVEL AGENCIES
On 12 June 2003 the China National Tourism Administration and the Ministry of Commerce promulgated the Interim Regulations on the Es-tablishment of Foreign-Controlled or Wholly Foreign-Owned Travel Services. The interim regulations, which took effect on 12 July, are intended to respond to the new situation fol-lowing China's accession to the WTO, by in-creasing the pace at which the tourism industry is opened to foreign investment, and by imple-menting ahead of schedule some of China's WTO accession commitments regarding market opening.
The interim regulations mainly define the con-ditions to be met when setting up a travel agency in which a foreign company (including Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwanese companies) holds a controlling interest, and the conditions to be met by foreign investors. The conditions to be complied with by Chinese investors, and the procedures for setting up such a travel agency are governed by the Regulations Governing Travel Services. The interim regulations provide that foreign-controlled or foreign-owned travel agencies may only be set up in national tourism resorts approved by the State Council, and in the five cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Xi's an. They may not arrange foreign travel for Chinese citizens, or arrange travel to Hong Kong, Macao, or Taiwan.