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Elizabeth Cheung

Local tourism sector leaders are calling for better-quality services in Hong Kong as the number of mainland visitor groups falls again.
The plea came amid reports of a 4.9 per cent year-on-year decline in the number of mainland tourists arriving in groups on the first day of what is regarded as a “mini-Golden Week” holiday running from April 30 to today.
The number of tourists in the city on individual permits, however, increased by 12.8 per cent.
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Joseph Tung Yao-chung, executive director of the Travel Industry Council, said during an RTHK radio programme on Monday that the uptick in individual tourists was good for the city’s overall economy but thought more efforts should be made to keep groups coming.
Tung said he hoped different members of the tourism sector could “see what could be done better to boost mainland tourists’ confidence”, including improvements in restaurants and shopping services.
A Mr Chan called programme and condemned the tour sector as “thieves”.
He said there were 28 chocolate shops in his neighbourhood of Hung Hom and that they engaged in sales misconduct.
‘Golden week’ hotel bargains send tourist numbers soaring – but no one’s buying much, with retail down
“I saw a tour leader yelling at tourists to ask them to purchase. After the tourists entered the shop, a gate was pulled down and a curtain was closed,” Chan added, noting that coaches carrying visitors to the chocolate shops caused traffic congestion nearby.
“You are all thieves and black sheep,” he said. “Don’t disgrace Hongkongers in this way.”
Lam Siu-lun, chairman of the Hong Kong Travel Agent Owners Association, said during the same programme that he had never seen shops closing their curtains when customers were shopping inside, but admitted there was room for improvement for tour guides and leaders.
Tung said in the long run the government should consider allowing tourists from the mainland to travel in the city for 52 weeks per permit, rather than the current “one trip per week” policy.
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Mainland authorities adjusted the travel permit arrangement for Shenzhen residents in April last year, tightening from multiple entries to “one trip per week” in response to parallel trading activities.
But Lam said implementation of the “one trip per week”permit had done little to alleviate the problem of parallel traders.
“It seems Hongkongers are the major parallel traders,” he said. “Since implementation [of the new policy] the problem of parallel traders in Sheung Shui has not improved much.”
“I’m personally inclined to change the ‘one trip per week’ permit to ‘five trips in a month’,” he said.
Timothy Chui Ting-pong, executive director of the Hong Kong Tourism Association, agreed that permits should include “multiple entries” but with conditions.
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He said the city could be more technologically advanced, “such as using a mobile app to tell mainland tourists when certain ports of entry were packed with travellers”.
Chui noted that around 10,000 visitors holding multiple-entry travel permits entered the city in 2014.
“It’s a problem if all 10,000 people flocked to Tuen Mun or Sheung Shui,” he said, adding more support measures were needed to reinstate multiple-entry permits.
On a recent phone message to the sector, Hong Kong Travel Agent Owners Association president Freddy Yip Hing-ning said Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying would seek to reinstate multiple-entry travel permits and add more mainland cities to the individual visit scheme if Hongkongers agreed not to insult tourists.
Chui later said the message, which went viral, was “a private conversation” and not to be taken seriously.


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Tourists in the Tsim Sha Tsui area of Hong Kong during the “Golden Week” holiday in October last year. Photo: SCMP Pictures

Peak Tram service cancelled as power failure leaves tourists disappointed

<p>Large numbers of visitors miss out on famous experience on one of the biggest days of the year for iconic Hong Kong attraction</p>

Tourists line up for replacement buses at the Garden Road Peak Tram Station. Photo: Nikki Sun

Peak Tram services have been cancelled. Photo: SCMP

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Kong Travel Agent Owners Association, Freddy Yip Hing-ning (bottom left) joined a group of representatives from tourism-related industries to stage a rally at the Golden Bauhinia Square in Wan Chai to promote Hong Kong as a tourist-friendly and welcoming city. Photo: Edward Wong

Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying at the luncheon presentation of HK News Awards 2015 at the JW Marriott in Admiralty. 25APR16 SCMP/ David Wong

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Hong Kong

Hong Kong Economy

As group figures dip 4.9 per cent year-on-year, top travel agent calls for reinstatement of multiple-entry permits but local resident calls industry ‘black sheep’


Bring them back: Hong Kong tourist sector urges better services to entice mainland China visitors

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}As group figures dip 4.9 per cent year-on-year, top travel agent calls for reinstatement of multiple-entry permits but local resident calls industry ‘black sheep’

As group figures dip 4.9 per cent year-on-year, top travel agent calls for reinstatement of multiple-entry permits but local resident calls industry ‘black sheep’