Tycoon tells tour firms not to run down hotels

He says operators have been telling clients that Hong Kong overcharges

A business tycoon and hotel owner yesterday asked tour operators to stop 'bad-mouthing Hong Kong' by saying hotels overcharged.

Lui Che-woo, chairman of KWah International and Stanford Hotels International, said Hong Kong hotels provided good service and charged fair rates.

Mr Lui, also chairman of the Federation of Hong Kong Hotel Owners, said hotels would charge different rates if tour operators suddenly asked for more rooms. He said the federation had asked all members to inform tour operators of their room rates for next month and October to prevent being criticised for charging rates that fluctuated 'like seafood prices'.

'The mainland is helping us by allowing people to come and visit us. Nobody should scare the tourists off. Otherwise no one will want to come here any more,' he said.

Tour operators have been complaining about a surge in room rates since July 28, when permission was granted to residents of eight cities in Guangdong to visit Hong Kong as individual tourists. The government has also expressed concerns that high accommodation costs would scare off visitors, with Secretary for Economic Development and Labour Stephen Ip Shu-kwan warning on Tuesday that hotels should not 'kill the goose that laid the golden eggs'.