TIA revokes licenses of two agencies, tour guide over forced shopping

Hong Kong’s Travel Industry Authority (TIA) has revoked the licenses of two travel agencies and a tour guide over forced shopping involving mainland tour groups, the watchdog announced.

The penalized agencies were identified as Go Go Ming Travel Services Limited and Grandee Travel Company Limited, alongside a tour guide Sun Kwun-ying.

According to the TIA, the two agencies received mainland inbound tour groups in February and April this year, respectively. Neither agency took all reasonable steps to ensure that tour members were not subjected to coerced shopping. During the tours, the guide involved made threatening remarks to force tourists to shop.

The authority reiterated its zero-tolerance stance against forced shopping and any practices that damage the reputation of Hong Kong’s tourism sector, emphasizing its commitment to cracking down hard on bad industry behavior.

With the National Day Golden Week holiday approaching, the TIA added that it will step up joint inspections with other law enforcement agencies to protect the rights of visitors and safeguard Hong Kong’s standing as a travel destination.

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