Don’t make Hong Kong tour guides scapegoats, industry leader urges
Union chairman calls on government to clarify legal responsibilities of those in travel business amid crackdown on misconduct such as forced shopping
A union fears tour guides will become the “scapegoat” under a new law and is calling on the government to clearly define the legal responsibilities of travel industry practitioners.
The call comes days after lawmakers received draft legislation proposing harsher penalties for the travel industry, with tour guides and operators having to bear liability in cases involving serious misconduct, such as “forced shopping”.
Wong Ka-ngai, chairman of the Hong Kong Tour Guides General Union, which represents 2,000 people, claimed members could be made the “scapegoat” for travel agency wrongdoings because they had to obey their bosses to keep their jobs.
“All the shopping activities are arranged by travel agencies not tour guides,” Wong said, adding most guides, including himself, had no choice as their incomes relied entirely on commissions from shops.
The draft law states “a tourist guide must not force any inbound tour member to enter or stay in any shop, or engage or otherwise get involved in any act coercing any inbound tour member into shopping”.
Wong said agencies would not assign tour groups to guides in future, adding that 90 per cent of members on mainland inbound tours still did not receive a basic salary.