A subsidy of 3,169 yuan per person for traveling to Yunnan? Exposing the inside story of the "low-cost tour" behind the rumor

Recently, a message about "3,169 yuan subsidy per person for traveling to Yunnan" appeared on multiple websites and platforms, claiming that Yunnan officials are issuing large tourism subsidies, and tourists can enjoy a 6-day, 5-night in-depth tour of Yunnan for 499 yuan. Is there really a "large tourism subsidy" for traveling to Yunnan?

Recently, law enforcement staff from the Yunnan Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism discovered that a rumor about Yunnan tourism subsidies has been appearing on the Internet. The title of the rumor not only said "It's decided, Yunnan has made it clear! The subsidy is 3,169 yuan per person!"

The main text also mentioned that since Yunnan launched the so-called "special travel subsidy plan", tourists only need to spend 499 yuan to enjoy a 6-day, 5-night in-depth tour in Yunnan. There is even a promotional advertisement that says "another 200 yuan off for two people traveling together, limited to 50 copies."

Lv Kaijia, the head of the Comprehensive Law Enforcement Supervision Bureau of the Yunnan Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism and a first-level researcher: This false advertisement has appeared several times and has been forwarded on some platforms. This is a typical false information, with a detailed description and a picture of the Yunnan Three-Year Action Plan for Strengthening the Province of Culture and Tourism. This action plan does not contain any of the content mentioned in the rumor.

According to Yunnan’s cultural and tourism law enforcement personnel, in order to increase the authenticity of the rumor information, the publisher also added a screenshot of a government red-headed document.

It is understood that the document is the "Three-Year Action Plan for Building Yunnan into a Strong Cultural and Tourism Province" issued by the General Office of the Yunnan Provincial Party Committee and the General Office of the Provincial Government in September 2023. The document not only does not involve the so-called "preferential travel subsidy plan", but also does not contain any relevant content about "a subsidy of 3,169 yuan per person for traveling to Yunnan."

Lu Kaijia, first-level researcher and head of the Comprehensive Law Enforcement Supervision Bureau of the Yunnan Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism: The document is a long-term plan, design, and goal for Yunnan's future. It does not contain the numbers in the rumors, nor does it contain such things.

Fabricating rumors of "tourism subsidies" to attract "low-cost tours"

Where did the rumor of "3,169 yuan subsidy per person for traveling to Yunnan" come from? What was the purpose of the person who created this rumor?

According to an investigation by Yunnan's cultural and tourism law enforcement officers, in recent years, during the peak tourist season, similar rumors about "tourism subsidies" have been spread online, and even the key information of "3,169 yuan subsidy" has been used continuously. In addition, such rumors of "3,169 yuan subsidy" not only involve Yunnan, but also include Xilin Gol in Inner Mongolia, Guiyang in Guizhou, and Guilin in Guangxi.

Wei Wei, Secretary-General of the Yunnan Travel Agency Association: This is not the first time we have seen such news. There are more or less such news on various platforms. We usually speak through official public accounts to guide everyone to adopt a rational consumption attitude.

In such rumor information, the publisher will attach a marketing promotion link for "low-cost travel". When the keywords "government official document", "preferential subsidy", and "limited to 50 copies" are combined together, many people who are unaware of the truth are attracted. Some of them will click on the "low-cost travel" link to learn more details and be further induced to buy.

Lv Kaijia, the head of the Comprehensive Law Enforcement Supervision Bureau of the Yunnan Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism and a first-level researcher: In fact, they are just advertising low-price tours to attract customers and then rip them off. Recently, we have organized cultural and tourism personnel and law enforcement personnel from various prefectures and cities to file complaints and reports on low-price advertisements in Yunnan every day, and contacted the website platforms and publishers to remove the advertisements, which has achieved certain results.

"Low-cost tours" have traps such as forced shopping and shortened tour time

"Low-price tours" are also called unreasonably low-price tours. The reason why they are unreasonable is that they deviate from the law of value, are lower than operating costs, attract tourists with false prices, induce consumption with false propaganda, and disrupt the market with unfair competition.

According to Yunnan's cultural and tourism law enforcement staff, the logic of unreasonable low-price tours is not to provide tourism services, but to trick tourists into spending money. In this process, there will be traps such as forced shopping and reduced time for sightseeing. Once tourists join an unreasonable low-price tour, their legal rights and interests will be difficult to protect, and their travel experience will also be affected.

The reporter analyzed that the routine of such rumors fabricated to attract customers for "low-cost tours" can be roughly divided into the following steps:

The first step is to throw out the bait of "government subsidies of 3,169 yuan" to attract the attention of netizens. In addition, in order to make consumers believe how the low-priced tours can cover the costs, the so-called "3,169 yuan" government subsidy has become their best excuse.

The second step is to use fake screenshots of government official documents to endorse and increase the authenticity of the rumor information.

The third step is to run promotional ads like "Another 200 yuan off, limited to 50 copies" to create the illusion that sales are hot and you will miss out if you don’t buy.

The fourth step is to attach an advertising link for "low-cost tours" to attract people in need and be deceived.

In addition to the rumors just disclosed to attract traffic to "low-cost tours", what other rumors have been fabricated recently by internet bloggers in order to attract attention and fans?

The firing of 3,000 rain-making bombs in one place in Henan Province caused heavy rain? Rumor!

Recently, some netizens spread the news on the online platform that "3,000 rain-making bombs were launched in Xinyang, Henan Province early in the morning, turning the originally peaceful county town into a disaster area. The highest water level in Xinyang City reached 1 meter, and drought turned into flooding."

On June 18, the Xinyang Meteorological Bureau of Henan Province issued a notice: individual stations of the city's meteorological department carried out a small amount of artificial rainmaking operations, and the average precipitation in the city was 0.6 mm. Related online comments such as "artificial rainmaking operations caused strong winds and rainstorms" were seriously inconsistent with the facts.

Someone in Chongqing stole corn and sold it, causing 2 people to die of poisoning after eating it? Rumor!

Recently, information has been circulating in some social networking groups that "someone in Chongqing Zhong County stole corn that had been sprayed with pesticides and sold it, causing two people to die of poisoning after eating it."

After verification by relevant Chongqing departments, Zhong County has not received any relevant police reports recently, and no deaths due to corn poisoning have occurred. The information circulated on the Internet is a rumor and is not true. At present, the publisher of this false information has been investigated and dealt with by relevant Chongqing departments in accordance with the law.

Recently, some netizens posted on social media that "Mount Everest is closed indefinitely". In response, the Dingri County Management Bureau of the Mount Everest National Nature Reserve issued a notice stating that the online rumor that "Mount Everest is closed indefinitely" is false information.

According to the "Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Nature Reserves" and the "Management Measures for the Mount Everest National Nature Reserve", nature reserves are divided into core areas, buffer areas and experimental areas. The existing area above the Everest Base Camp belongs to the core area, and no unit or individual may enter without approval in accordance with the law; the Everest Base Camp belongs to the experimental area, where scientific experiments, teaching internships, visits, inspections, tourism and other activities can be carried out.