Tourists Ripped Off

Fromthe NineMSN website !!...........some unscrupulus bastards in Australia........

Crackdown on dodgy tour operators

05:50 AEST Sat May 1 2004

Tourist operators who are reportedly charging Asian visitors $100 to walk on the beach are the focus of a federal government crackdown.

The Weekend Australian reports some tourists claim dodgy Gold Coast guides are charging for beach walks and leading visitors to over-priced warehouses away from the tourist shopping strip.

Tourism Minister Joe Hockey told a tourism conference on Friday that new federal measures would complement police and fair trading initiatives, the report said.

Surfers Paradise Traders Association spokesman Stuart Cowen said kickbacks of as much as $100 a head were being paid to operators by store owners to bring tourists to their shop, the report said.

Visitors who had been taken away from the CBD were warned they risked violence on the streets of Surfers Paradise, to ensure they did not find out they had been ripped off, Mr Cowen said.