A senior official from the mainland's tourism watchdog said yesterday he was half-surprised by the solid increase in the number of mainland tourists visiting Hong Kong during the Labour Day 'golden week' holiday following reports of shopping scams.
China National Tourism Administration deputy director Zhang Xiqin said he did not expect to see a substantial increase in the number of mainlanders taking trips to Hong Kong over the holiday, given television reports of shopping scams were broadcast on the mainland in April.
But he was not totally surprised because the mainland had such an enormous population of potential tourists wanting to visit Hong Kong.
'I saw from TV that Hong Kong Tourism Board chairman James Tien Pei-chun sent pamphlets to mainland tourists to warn them of shopping frauds. Hong Kong's measures to restore its image as a shopping paradise have been successful,' Mr Zhang said.
'Also, it shows the great potential of our tourism market as more and more mainlanders will make trips in the future. Mainlanders only make one trip a year on average at the moment. It is a far lower rate than residents of moderately developed countries.'
A CCTV report in April showed mainland tourists paying top prices in Hong Kong shops for diamond jewellery and watches that were fake. Some also complained of being pressured by tour operators into making purchases.