A CCTV expose has revealed that forced shopping tours are back in Hong Kong; two undercover journalists took secret footage showing them being forced to make purchases at a store.
Tourists on a "forced shopping tour" would be duped into travelling to Hong Kong or Macau with free or very cheap accommodation and travel, but once there would find themselves taken to stores by guides and bullied into spending vast amounts of money. This was banned on October 1 last year, under a law which said that guides were not allowed to verbally or physically abuse tourists into spending money, after authorities received copious reported cases. However, it now seems guides have found a way to bend the rules.
The CCTV expose opens with a man from Beijing who had joined a four day tour to Hong Kong and Macau, and found himself shuttled between different shops by his guide.
"The tour guide would scorn you as a 'pauper' if you didn't buy anything," the man said.
The tour guide had accepted a "travel voucher" from the man costing 200 yuan ($32 / 250 HKD) as payment for a tour valued at 4,000 yuan ($644 / 5,000 HKD), in order to dodge the free transport/accommodation ban.
Michael Wu Siu-ieng, chairman of the Hong Kong Travel Industry Council, said he has suspicions that some tour operators are using these "travel vouchers" to defy the ban.
The report moves onto showing undercover CCTV journalists on a similar tour. Their tour guide takes the group to a store and then tells them that "the quickest way to leave is to finish making purchases". The guide notes down how much each customer spends, and refuses to tourists who do not make a purchase leave.
Wu said he would consult with CCTV and notify mainland authorities if there was enough evidence to back up the allegations.
[Image via Flickr]
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