Hong Kong Secretary for Economic Development and Labor Stephen Ip said Wednesday that to enhance travelers' safety and improve travel agents' knowledge of possiblelegal liabilities due to negligence, the Travel Industry Council (TIC) is working on a new "Code of Best Practice" for its member travel agents.

He said in a written reply for the Legislative Council that theTIC will also organize training programs to provide advice and guidance to the travel agents. Issues and revises from time to time, directives to remind its members of issues to be addressed when organizing outbound tours.

These directives include the need to monitor the quality of thetour coaches and drivers, to pay attention to driving safety, to appoint only licensed or registered service providers overseas, etc. Outbound tour escorts are also required to attend training courses, during which they are reminded of the importance of monitoring the service quality of overseas service providers.

He said the Travel Industry Compensation Fund (TICF), established under the Travel Agents Ordinance, has a clearly defined ambit with the objective of providing protection to outbound travelers against loss of tour fees in cases of default of travel agents, and to provide emergency financial relief to them when an accident occurs in the course of an outbound tour organized by a Hong Kong travel agent.

The TICF is funded through a levy on the outbound fees paid at a rate of 0.15 percent. Any litigation costs arising from compensation claims against travel agents for negligence should befor the travel agents concerned to handle as part of their business operation. Meeting such costs from the TICF will not be consistent with the objectives of the Fund. We have no plans to amend the ambit of the TICF.

He said travel agents, like other commercial entities, should be responsible for the services they provide and in doing so must manage the risks involved. They are encouraged to adopt effective risk management measures to minimize the possibility of liability arising from third party negligence.

The TIC is looking into the matter and has recently set up a Liability Insurance Study Group with members drawn from the legal,insurance and academic sectors and TIC directors. The Study Group has started to explore a "Business Protection Scheme for Tour Operators" which seeks to increase the travel agents' knowledge ofrisk management, liability indemnity and liability insurance.

The Study Group will also consider relevant protection measuresto reduce operational risks of travel agents.

Tourist arrivals in Hong Kong has been on a rise since the beginning of this year and nearly 400,000 Chinese mainland tourists visited Hong Kong during the past seven-day Labor Day Golden Week holidays.

Source: Xinhua