Cheap-tour tactics in focus after Hong Kong guide stripped of licence for berating mainlanders
Some tourism officials say incident is isolated, while others stress it has harmed the sector’s reputation
Hong Kong authorities striking off a tour guide for threatening mainland Chinese visitors to make them spend has shown that low-cost trips with shopping excursions are still rife, despite the city turning its focus to in-depth tourism.
Tourism industry representatives told the Post on Saturday the revocation of tour guide Lam Chun-fai’s licence served as a warning that such behaviour was unacceptable.
While some said the incident would not affect Hong Kong’s reputation as a tourist destination, another representative said the news had harmed the sector, which was already struggling to recover post-pandemic.
The Post found multiple posts on popular mainland social media platform Xiaohongshu of users complaining about negative experiences with tour groups in Hong Kong.
Most of the tours cost less than 1,000 yuan (US$141) and are usually multi-day trips that cover Hong Kong and the neighbouring cities of Macau and Zhuhai.
On top of a packed itinerary with around 30 minutes at each tourist attraction, travellers are brought to shops selling jewellery, health supplements, watches and chocolates and are made to stay for more than an hour.
