Japan Tourism Agency orders Hankyu Transportation to improve business - No plans for the company's public relations announcement
On June 26, 2024, the Japan Tourism Agency summoned executives of Hankyu Kotsusha, a major travel company, to the agency for a hearing based on a violation of the Travel Agency Act. The Japan Tourism Agency plans to issue an order to improve the company's operations in the future.
The reason for the hearing was that the amount of commission paid to the travel agency for the fare fee of the charter bus operator that undertook transportation in the charter bus trip conducted by Hankyu Transportation in November 2020 was less than the safety cost of the bus operator. In other words, Hankyu Transportation Corporation was receiving excessive commissions from charter bus operators. For this reason, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism's Automobile and Passenger Bureau first took administrative action against the bus operator for violating the Road Transport Act, and the information was communicated to the travel agency of the Japan Tourism Agency, and a hearing was held against Hankyu Transportation.
At the hearing, the Japan Tourism Agency informed Hankyu Transportation of the facts, which Hankyu Kotsu accepted. In the future, the Japan Tourism Agency plans to issue a business improvement order to Hankyu Transportation. The Japan Tourism Agency said, "Transactions in such a state can lead to serious accidents and affect the safety of passengers."
The Japan Tourism Agency has announced a hearing with Hankyu Transportation, but there is currently no official announcement from Hankyu Transportation. According to the Japan Tourism Agency, "There is a possibility that it will be announced after the official business improvement order is issued, but it depends on the travel agency." When I checked with Hankyu Transportation, they replied, "We are not currently considering making an announcement about this matter," and when I asked if they considered it a case that did not require a public relations announcement, they said, "Not at the moment."
It should be noted that the Travel Agency Act does not secure the interests of travel agents, but is defined as a law to protect the legitimate interests of travelers.
