Tour guides who have been accused of forcing mainland tourists to shop say they are being made scapegoats. They say getting tourists to spend money is the only way to survive in the industry.
Roy, a veteran tour guide, said he and his colleagues have been forcing tourists to spend at least HK$2,000 to HK$3,000 each to cover the cost of their package tours. He says about 30 travel agencies with about 200 tour guides are doing the same thing.
Last week, the Travel Industry Council (TIC)suspended a tour guide after he abandoned a group of Qinghai tourists at a ferry pier when they failed to spend enough, but it only issued a warning letter to the travel agent.
The Hong Kong Association of Registered Tour Co-ordinators (Hartco) says tour guides commonly receive no basic salary and rely on commission paid by shops.
On top of that, the guides even have to pay the tour expenses, such as drivers and meals, in advance and then have to earn that money back, said Roy, who has been a guide since the 1970s.
The Hong Kong Tour Guides General Union organised a press conference so that tour guides could express their grievances about working in the industry.
According to Roy, agencies sometimes have to pay up to HK$800 for each tourist to win high-end business, instead of being paid by mainland operators to run the tours.