Tour fees may change amid price-fixing fears

Agencies may have to change their practice of charging extra service fees for tours because it may breach the competition law.

At present, travellers on group tours pay a fee before departure. They are then charged service fees - for escorts, local guides and drivers - at the end of the tour.

Agencies follow a directive put out 10 years ago by the Travel Industry Council, recommending a maximum daily service fee for tour group members. It aimed to stop overcharging of tourists.

But the council's executive director, Joseph Tung Yao-chung, said yesterday that it may have to withdraw the guidance. "We met with the Competition Commission on Monday and were told the service charge recommendation could be seen as price-fixing," Tung said.

Price-fixing violates the Competition Ordinance, which comes into full effect next year. The directive states members of tour groups should be charged no more than HK$60 to HK$160 per day for service fees, depending on how far they are travelling.

Travel sector lawmaker Yiu Si-wing said agencies would likely scrap service fees and roll everything into a single tour charge.