Forced shopping in Hong Kong makes a return on cheap tour packages
Mainland authorities receive complaints of tourists on cheap packages being locked in Hong Kong shops until they agree to spend
"Forced shopping" has made an unwelcome return to Hong Kong, mainland tourists complain, as travel agencies sell group-tour vouchers on websites at rock-bottom prices.
This year, mainland authorities have again received complaints of tourists being forced to buy goods in assigned stores - with them locked inside - during their trips to Hong Kong.
Internet users in Shanghai, Shenzhen, Hubei and Jiangsu provinces have described their disappointment and anger, and police in Hunan and Shenzhen have warned such practices were still found in Hong Kong.
A tourist from Hebei told the she was trapped in two shops during a group tour this month.
"We have received dozens of complaints from mainland tourists this year and most of them involved forced shopping," said Qiu Gan, director of the supervision and management department of Shenzhen's tourism administration. He said most complaints could not be followed up because of a lack of evidence. "In the past months we have launched two campaigns against shopping fraud, especially focusing on online sales of Hong Kong-Macau tour vouchers. But complaints keep rising."
While it is illegal for agencies to organise tours at prices that cannot cover costs - a red light that the agencies earn their income from forced shopping - it is easy to buy tourist coupons online through various mainland websites at ultra-low prices of between 200 yuan and 500 yuan.
