TWENTY-SIX tourists signed up for a package tour to Greece, but found that their accommodations hadn’t been confirmed after they arrived, the Southern Metropolis Daily reported yesterday.

The late June trip was part of a 12-day package tour to Greece, Spain and Portugal, which cost 16,000 yuan (US$2,353). It was organized by the branch companies of Beijing Huayuan International Tourism Co. Ltd. in Guangzhou and Shenzhen.

The tourists said they arrived on Santorini Island at noon. Instead of helping them check in, the tour guide took the group to a scenic spot for viewing the sunset.

Even though the best time to watch the sunset in Greece is from 8 p.m. to 8:40 p.m., the group carried their luggage and waited from 2 p.m. until dusk. It was not until 9:10 p.m. that the tour guide told them the accommodations hadn’t been confirmed.

“We had to carry our luggage to look for hotels throughout the three days in Greece,” said a tourist surnamed Jin.

According to materials provided by the tourists, they had paid the fees and confirmed their trips two months in advance. But more than 10 tourists hadn’t signed a contract with the travel agency and only had an electronic version of the itinerary.

According to the travel agency, there was no contractual relation between tourists and the agency as no written contracts had been signed. It agreed to pay 800 yuan to each tourist, but noted that the tourists should hold the whole matter in confidence.

If the tourists transferred money to the agency’s bank account, received the itinerary and joined the group, then there was an actual contractual relation, said lawyer Wang Hanxi.

(Zhang Yu)