A Hong Kong travel agency has had its licence revoked after one of its tour guides allegedly coerced mainland Chinese travellers into purchasing items while visiting the city.
The Travel Industry Authority on Monday said it had earlier launched an investigation into Star Link Travel Limited over four instances in which one of its tour guides was suspected of coercing inbound mainland travellers to shop.
The investigation found that between January and March, Star Link Travel failed to take “all reasonable steps” to ensure that participants in the tour group were not coerced into making purchases.
It also found that in March, the tour guide, named Kuk Wa, had made what it described as “inappropriate remarks” to visitors and threatened that those who did not make purchases would have to pay the difference in the tour price.
“After considering the investigation results, the Travel Industry Authority believes that the inaction of the travel agency and the tour guide’s remarks effectively coerced tourists into shopping, constituting a serious breach of licensing conditions,” it said.
“The travel agency and tour guide involved have severely damaged the reputation of the Hong Kong tourism industry.”
The authority said that it had revoked the licences of both the tour guide and Star Link Travel under Section 111 of the Travel Industry Ordinance.
