Fears grow over impact of scams on tourism
Representatives of more than 2,000 local companies and retailers are urging the government to organise a large-scale shopping festival to help revitalise the tourism and retail trades amid growing concerns about shopping scams.
Trade associations, led by the 1,000-member Hong Kong Chamber of Small and Medium Business, yesterday warned of the dire consequences to businesses if no action is taken and expressed deepening concern over widespread media coverage of recent scams involving fake merchandise sold to mainland tourists.
'One or two shops scamming customers rarely attracts such widespread coverage. But the recent incidents have managed to singlehandedly dominate the news,' chamber president Dennis Ng Wang-pun said.
'The reputation of the entire industry is being unfairly tarnished by the actions of a handful of shops.'
Jewellery Manufacturers' Association principal consultant Aaron Shum Wan-leung said many international tourist destinations, including Dubai, organised major shopping festivals each year and many tourists visited cities just for these events.
