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Guangzhou travel agencies told to avoid sending tour groups to Hong Kong at weekends via new bridge after influx of visitors at border town sparks anger
- ‘Urgent notice’, issued by Tourism Administration of Guangzhou Municipality and effective immediately, also pledges crackdown on unauthorised agents
- Move came after residents of Tung Chung complained of being inundated by mainland visitors
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Guangzhou’s tourism authority on Thursday sent an “urgent notice” to travel agencies in the mainland Chinese city instructing them to avoid sending tour groups to Hong Kong via the new cross-border bridge during weekends.
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The notice, issued by the Tourism Administration of Guangzhou Municipality and effective immediately, also pledged a crackdown on unauthorised agents.
The move came after residents of Tung Chung on Lantau Island complained of being inundated by mainland visitors after the opening of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge last month.
Their resentment over large crowds descending on their usually quiet neighbourhood was compounded by allegations about illegal tour operators exploiting the convenience of the new bridge.
The influx of visitors saw long queues at bus stops and shops largely emptied of goods, triggering protests by localist activists and inflaming anti-mainland sentiment over the disruption to residents’ daily life.
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Some tour guides were also accused of flouting employment laws that prevent mainlanders from working in the city.
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