Foreign travel agents will be allowed to set up franchise branches on the mainland this year, two years before China is required to do so under World Trade Organisation rules, reported HKiMail. Under the pilot scheme, large agencies from the US, Germany and Japan will be allowed to set up sole-proprietor branches this year to conduct inbound and domestic tours.
Shanghai is expected to take the lead after the municipal government recently agreed to a request by Japan’s biggest travel agency to establish sole-proprietor branches in the city.