Hong Kong shopping spree for 2,000-strong mainland China tour group as some locals complain about disturbance to daily life
- Coach loads of visitors arrive one after another at jewellery shop in Hung Hom after breakfast at To Kwa Wan restaurant
- It is second largest mainland tour group to visit Hong Kong since cross-border travel fully resumed in February, with Macau next on the itinerary
A 2,000-strong group of tourists from mainland China spent the second and final day of their Hong Kong visit on an arranged shopping spree and dined out in Kowloon City and To Kwa Wan, to the annoyance of some locals.
Coach loads of the visitors arrived one after another at a shop called DDrax Jewellery in Hung Hom on Wednesday afternoon. According to an itinerary seen by the Post, the shop visit followed breakfast at a nearby To Kwa Wan restaurant.
The tourists were split in groups, with each spending around two hours in the jewellery store under the itinerary, before being bused to other shopping destinations, including Tsim Sha Tsui.
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Visitor Liu Mei, in her 50s, told the Post she spent around HK$10,000 in total at the jewellery store and the pharmacy next door, while her friend Han Xiaolu, also in her 50s, said she bought a bracelet for about HK$3,000.
But some locals felt their daily lives had been disturbed.
Asked whether the streets were more crowded than usual, an employee at a nearby car wash said the crowds of tourists were “definitely a nuisance”.
“At times there are so many of them, they spill onto the streets and come into our store to sit on our chairs for a smoke. Some even take our chairs across the street without asking,” he said.
His colleague added: “Or, they stand around and stare at us while we work. It’s really awkward.”
At a hardware store next door, a worker who gave his name as Mr Lee, said he had noticed an uptick in tourist numbers as soon as curb-free travel resumed in February.
“Actually they come from many places. We have seen people from Singapore and Malaysia here as well,” he said.
“I don’t mind them being around, but sometimes they will stand in our driveway and get in the way of our vans.”
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Parts of residential neighbourhoods Kowloon City and To Kwa Wan have become unexpected hotspots for tour groups in recent years with an influx of retail stores and restaurants dedicated to large groups of visitors and which do not cater to locals.
The two areas have become controversial stop-offs after residents complained about overcrowding and disrupted lives.
The 2,000-person tour group arrived in Hong Kong on Tuesday morning through the Heung Yuen Wai control point, and were taken to a business conference at AsiaWorld-Expo in Chek Lap Kok in the afternoon.
The group is expected to leave Hong Kong on Wednesday evening for Macau.
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Attendees said they were all staff from a mainland firm called Yobesta, an e-commerce company established in 2020, according to its website.
But the Post has found a number of mainland law enforcement agencies have issued warnings against Yobesta for “suspected pyramid schemes and illegal financial activities”.
For example, a post dated May 4 on the official WeChat account of the Changyang Tujia Autonomous County police force said the company attracted new “members” by claiming they could earn rebates by spending a certain amount of money.
They would also earn commissions by bringing in new members, with commission grades divided into 13 levels.
The post warned that Yobesta’s mode of operation was unsustainable, “did not conform to normal consumption rules, and violated the laws of market economy,” and asked the public to report to authorities if they encountered any such activities.
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The official WeChat account of law enforcement in Yiling district, Hubei, posted a similar warning on May 8.
At Tuesday’s conference at AsiaWorld-Expo, one attendee told Post reporters that members could “earn more money the more they spent,” and that he had given up his day job to work for Yobesta full-time.
