A local trade union claiming to represent 3,000 tourism players hit out at the Travel Industry Council’s latest plans to restore visitor confidence yesterday.
Hong Kong Tourism Practitioners’ Union honorary president Lam Siu-lun gatecrashed a press briefing by the council as it vowed to step up inspections at the city’s attractions and crack down on unlicensed tour guides during the New Year holiday.
Tourism sector lawmaker Yiu Si-wing questioned Lam’s move and warned that his gesture of defiance could reflect the fact that the council had difficulty keeping industry players under control.
He expressed his concerns after figures showed that visitor arrivals decreased 10.4 per cent year-on-year to 4.75 million in November, the sixth consecutive month of decline. The number of mainland tourists registered a year-on-year drop of 15.5 per cent in November.
Council chairman Jason Wong Chun-tat said it was crucial that the tourism industry strengthened protection for tourists against bad practices in the city “We must restore tourists’ confidence in Hong Kong,” said Wong.
After signing an agreement with Guangzhou’s tourism authority on regulatory cooperation, the council unveiled measures to protect inbound group visitors.