Elderly tourists warned to travel safely

By Xu Fang  |   2008-6-9  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

A RISING number of disputes involving elderly travelers has sparked judges to call on travel agencies to take more precautions and for elderly travelers to select programs based on their abilities.

Judges of the Jing'an District People's Court said they had handled 14 travel disputes during the past two years. Half of those cases involved elderly tourists.

Most cases involved the tourists filing lawsuits seeking compensation for injuries they suffered while on tour, according to Li Hongguang, a judge of the court.

In one case, Shanghai Yinfa Travel Agency was ordered to pay 57,000 yuan (US$8,143) in compensation to the family of a man surnamed Lu who died during a tour. Lu, aged in his 70s, joined a Yinfa tour group to Beijing in May 2006. The court heard it was raining when the group climbed the Great Wall. Lu became lost and slipped to his death while descending the Great Wall.

The family received an insurance payout, but the court also ordered the travel agency to pay part of the compensation because it found the guide didn't accompany the tourists or give them a special warning about the dangers the trip posed in rainy weather.

In another case, a 63-year-old woman surnamed Zhao received 26,000 yuan in compensation from the Shanghai Xindalu Travel Agency and Zhejiang Fuchun River Tourism Co Ltd. The court heard Zhao took a sled when traveling in a forest park. The sled bumped and Zhao suffered from broken bones.

In that case, the court ruled that Zhao had to bear half of the responsibility. It said as an older woman, Zhao shouldn't have selected such a potentially dangerous program.