Domestic Pilgrimage Tour Group Issues Nine Safety Guidelines for Travellers

The Domestic Pilgrimage and Tourism Services Association has issued nine guidelines urging passengers travelling on domestic pilgrimage vehicles to ensure their phones do not contain photographs or videos deemed unlawful.

The association released the notice on September 21, outlining measures to ensure the safe departure of pilgrimage vehicles and precautions to be observed during journeys.

The nine-point notice includes requirements for all passengers to carry their national registration cards or travel recommendation letters issued by police stations, while guides are instructed to cooperate and communicate smoothly with roadside inspection teams.

It also requires all tour operators to hold tourism licences issued by the relevant regional authorities with recommendations from the Domestic Pilgrimage and Tourism Operators Association (DPTOA). Operators must report unusual incidents along travel routes to member checkpoints and through the DPTOA Member Group, and carry photocopies of membership cards and business licences on their vehicles.

The association further instructed passengers not to keep unlawful photographs or videos on their phones, arrange departures from 5 am onwards, and plan journeys to ensure vehicles return to their assembly points no later than 8 pm or 10 pm.

To facilitate passengers’ return home, guides have also been instructed to arrange taxis or Grab rides, record vehicle numbers, and ask passengers to contact them upon reaching home, after which guides should follow up with them.