The Hong Kong Tourism Commission announced Friday that it had co-ordinated relevant government departments and the tourism industry to draw up various measures to prepare for the arrival of visitors from the Chinese mainland during the Labor Day Golden Week period.

These measures include enhancing the flow of visitors at various boundary control points, increasing the capacity of transport facilities, and stepping up promotion to visitors on smart consumption.

Hong Kong Commissioner for Tourism Au King-chi said the Labor Day Golden Week, which last from May 1 to 7, was one of the peak travel periods for visitors from the Chinese mainland.

"Government departments will deploy appropriate manpower resources and transport facilities to ensure smooth cross-boundary service for visitors," Au said.

Many Hong Kong residents are likely to go to the Chinese mainland during the Labor Day Golden Week period, which would put considerable pressure on the land boundary control points.

Au said relevant departments had arranged additional manpower and resources to handle the peak period for boundary crossing. For example, the Immigration Department will deploy additional staff to support immigration clearance at various land control points, she said.

The Joint Command Center set up by the Immigration Department and other relevant departments will also be activated during Golden Week to monitor the situation at land control points and take prompt and flexible contingency action when necessary.

"As a cosmopolitan city, Hong Kong provides a quality shopping environment for visitors, offering a wide range of choices in terms of product varieties, models and design, quality and prices for both the Chinese mainland and overseas visitors with great convenience," Au said.

"Most of the visitors from the Chinese mainland travel under the 'Individual Visit Scheme'," she said. "Many retail shops in Hong Kong provide quality service, including 6,300 outlets accredited by the 'Quality Tourism Services Scheme' and more than 5,000 member shops of the Hong Kong Retail Management Association. Visitors can enjoy the convenience and pleasure of shopping freely according to their own preference.

"For visitors who choose to join tour groups, if their itinerary includes designated shopping activities, they will be guided to shops registered with the Travel Industry Council (TIC), " Au added.

After recent shopping complaints by some mainland group visitors, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government and the industry have put in place various measures to combat unscrupulous sales practices of those TIC-registered retail shops targeting mainland package tour groups and to better protect these visitors in Hong Kong.

The Customs and Excise Department has been closely co-operating with Hong Kong Police in stepping up inspection of these retail shops for effective law enforcement. The TIC has also tightened the requirements for the 57 registered shops.

In addition, Hong Kong Customs, Hong Kong Police, the Consumer Council and TIC have already established a fast-track referral system to handle visitors' complaints in Hong Kong.

To strengthening the regulation of inbound travel agents receiving mainland tour groups, the inbound travel agents are required under the TIC directive to distribute itineraries to visitors upon arrival so that visitors can assess if the services provided by the inbound travel agents are the same as promised.

"We have reminded TIC to step up surveillance and impose sanctions against non-compliant travel agents and tour guides," Au said.

Source: Xinhua