When the Quality Tourism Services Scheme struck the jewellery shop 3D-Gold off its list of approved premises last December, the management knew precisely what to do. They flushed the scheme down their famous $38 million gold toilet, saying they attracted 5,000 visitors a day and did not need QTS. I tend to agree with their opinion.
The Hong Kong Tourism Board's system of approving places where visitors can shop or dine without being ripped off, harassed or conned is murky.
I'm mystified by what QTS does. It doesn't seem to be much. QTS dedicates itself to looking after the interests of tourism-related businesses, particularly shops and restaurants. Part of its stated mission is to improve ethics and standards of service.
There are 5,200 outlets entitled to display the needlessly confusing logo; only one establishment has ever been stripped of this right, and that was 3D-Gold. The well-known Hunghom enterprise, which boasts the most expensive loo in the universe, was disbarred when 40 customers complained they had been harassed by staff and prevented from leaving the shop.
The Hong Kong Tourism Board for once took some positive action, sending a string of decoy shoppers to the shop. What they saw convinced HKTB chairwoman Selina Chow Liang Shuk-yee and other board members that the firm should be taken off the list of recommended outlets.
This is the sort of proactive approach the HKTB and its offshoot Quality Tourism Services should be taking every week of the year. I believe the number of complaints by tourists is only the tip of a very large problem.
Visitors usually complain only if there is a major incident that includes physical violence, abuse or sizeable monetary loss.