Impose tourism surcharge on mainlanders

It is time for the Hong Kong government to rein in the surging number of mainland travellers in the city.

While there are important advantages to be gained from these tourists, including increased retail and restaurant sales, and a chance for our mainland relatives to see our law-based society, the burden on our limited infrastructure (crowded streets and underground) is reaching breaking point. Try taking the MTR, including former KCR lines, for a week.

Excessive tourist numbers create a great deal of inconvenience for the working poor. They find it hard to accept, as they do not reap the benefits of tourism. It is the retailers - for example, jewellers - and their landlords who benefit directly.

Hong Kong's masses have to go through the daily battle of travelling on an overcrowded underground system and fighting their way through the crowds at shops just to purchase their daily necessities. The problems I have described also accentuate the rich-poor divide in Hong Kong, not only financially but also in terms of quality of life (travelling in a limousine compared to a crowded underground).

Tourism is a good industry. But, like anything else, too much of a good thing can be undesirable. We desperately need some controls.

The free travel by Shenzhen residents to Hong Kong has led to many retired citizens coming here on a daily basis. Eligible elderly pensioners from across the border, taking advantage of concessionary fares on public transport and armed with shopping carts, exacerbate overcrowding problems on the MTR system.