"Online shopping" travel visa abroad to do it?

As the Spring Festival holiday is approaching, many people have begun to plan their holiday dinner and travel itinerary. With the improvement of living standards, traveling abroad has become the choice of many people, but complicated visa processing makes people feel "headache." With the development of e-commerce, personal tourist visas have been able to be hosted on the Internet. Network agent visa, is it safe? Is personal privacy leaked?

Internet agency visas are increasingly popular, and consumer feedback is mixed.

The growing popularity of free travel abroad has led to the departure visa agency business of the travel agency online mall. Searching for “visa” on Taobao.com can find 6663 product entries, of which the highest-selling goods sell 7269 pieces in a single month.

At present, Taobao's sales rankings are mostly those of Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam and other Southeast Asian countries. According to relevant sources, the materials and procedures required by these countries are relatively simple and the refusal to accept is relatively small. However, visas for the United States, Canada, and Japan are less obvious.

Some businesses make a definite commitment to the deadlines on the Internet and provide intimate services such as full SMS notifications, which have won many users. "3 days signing, full text + phone notification, this is my most comfortable shopping experience on the Internet." Netizen "HSLX111" has a high rating on this network agency visa experience.

In order to promote the "sales" of visas, some online shops have launched many new promotional cards. Send insurance, send coupons, send lottery tickets... Consumers welcome similar promotions. "The lottery ticket sent was also worth $10. It's very interesting. It's all 5 points!" The netizen "ZANGKUN0619" relished this unexpected success.

However, not all consumers are satisfied with online agency services. “The visa was sent back, but the ID card was forgotten by me. I only sent it to me later, terrified me, and the staff must be careful!” When talking about the visa experience of the Internet agency, netizen “YBEARC” is still There is a curse: "If the identity card is lost, it will cause great trouble for me to buy a house and learn the car. Fortunately, I finally got it back."

In addition to the potential troubles of lost documents, some consumers are also exposed to leakage of personal information. Industry sources pointed out that in order to increase the visa clearance rate for travel visas to developed countries such as the United States, in addition to ordinary identification certificates, applicants are required to provide personal information such as personal assets and work status, and some regular travel agencies can better protect individual customers. information. Some online businesses not only do not have such awareness of protection, but instead "fully" use consumers' personal information to seek benefits.

The netizen “LJN7ULY” complained that the online merchant who had applied for an outbound tourist visa for him had still called him to sell the self-service travel products after the transaction was completed. He was very annoyed: “The seller used my online contact information to sell to me. Products, which are clearly contrary to business ethics."

Low prices plagued by doubts

According to data from the United Nations World Tourism Organization, China’s outbound tourism is growing at a rate of 20% per year and is expected to exceed 80 million people in 2012. Compared with the outbound travel visa agency services provided by offline travel agencies, the preferential prices offered by online merchants are the main reason for the popularity of online agency services.

Take Taobao's “Tourship” month’s highest travel visa for Thailand as an example. In a general travel agency, the market price is about 400 yuan per person, while the network agency only needs 258 yuan. Travel visas to other countries are also generally cheaper than travel agencies. Ten to several hundred dollars.

Although the network agent visa is quick and affordable, carefully checking the business information, it is easy to find that the quality of numerous online stores is mixed. At present, there are mainly two types of businesses on the Internet that operate outbound travel visas, and one is a branch of a formal travel agency established in the online mall. Such businesses are approved by the National Tourism Administration to handle outbound travel services.

The other category of merchants are mostly named after the “Souxou Tourism Store”. The company names on business licenses are mostly tourism consulting companies, and they clearly state that they are not allowed to engage in travel agency business. The 1,652 travel agencies approved by the National Tourism Administration to allow outbound travel services These companies could not be found on the list, but they still appealed to customers online.

According to Xiao Hua, an outsider of the China Travel Service in Guangxi, most of these travel consultancy companies are intermediary. They do not have the qualifications for outbound travel business, and they want to share a share, so they first attract customers online and then apply their business. Transfer to a qualified and qualified travel agency, and use the blank area of ​​legal supervision to gain benefits.

Regulate network agent visa program to remind users to learn to identify authenticity

According to Luo Guoan, a researcher at the Institute of Sociology of the Guangxi Academy of Social Sciences, on the one hand, the development of e-commerce and the expansion of its service content is, in a sense, an expression of social progress. It is convenient for people; on the other hand, if this progress is to serve the people well, then it must be standardized, otherwise it can only be “helped”.

“Improve the access threshold of network agency visa agencies, ensure the accuracy of the determination, and make them have reasonable and formal qualifications, in order to protect the safety of Internet users' personal information.” Luo Guoan said.

In response to the dishonest behavior on the market, Luo Guoan suggested that the majority of netizens should learn to distinguish between genuine and fake. In the Internet era, information is all-encompassing. Citizens should have the skills to analyze information. Even if the network agency visa agency has a problem, it must be clearly identified. Avoid damage.

Industry insiders particularly recommended that since the agency agency visa agency is still in the exploration and start-up phase, many agency procedures and after-sales services are still not perfect. It is best to select a formal entity for visas.