Safer mainland tours would come at a price, says official
Increasing the quality of mainland tours to make them safer would lead to price rises, the Secretary for Economic Services warned yesterday.
But Sandra Lee Suk-yee said it would be difficult to implement a fixed minimum price.
Last week, 10 Hong Kong residents were killed in two traffic accidents while on Lunar New Year bus tours in Guangdong and Guangxi. Preliminary results have shown the driver in the Guangdong crash was too tired to drive, while the driver in the second case was speeding.
Ms Lee said she would not object to a set of recommended minimum prices for package tours as a reference for consumers.
Competition and cost-cutting by mainland operators have been blamed for the poor safety standards of some bus tours.
The Travel Industry Council has said it will discuss setting fixed prices for accommodation and transport with mainland officials.
Ms Lee said: 'There should be a balance between the cost and the quality of service. An increase of quality of service will lead to an increase in price.'
She said a suggestion of having two drivers needed further discussion with the mainland.
'Under 'one country, two systems', we cannot force them to do something,' she said.
'We can only make suggestions. But at the end of the day, it is the duty of the tour guides to ensure the quality of the services, including the condition of the vehicles and whether the driver has had enough rest.'
Schoolmates of a boy left on a life-support machine after last week's Guangxi bus crash will pray for his recovery when they return to school on Thursday.
Lam Chun-man, 13, a Form Two student at Ming Kei College in Tai Kok Tsui, suffered serious brain damage in the crash. He has been in a coma and on a life-support machine for six days.
His mother Wong Yuk, 47, died at the scene. His father, Lam Tao-kei, 50, suffered head injuries and a broken sternum.
