Snacking outside toilets among gripes about low-quality tours

Mainland tourists have been seen eating cup noodles outside a public toilet in Repulse Bay and tour buses have caused traffic jams in Hung Hom and To Kwa Wan amid "low-quality, low-cost" group tours, according to lawmakers.

Photos widely circulating online show tourists snacking on the curb outside a public toilet, drawing the ire of residents who said they are "affecting public image."

Speaking at a Legislative Council meeting yesterday, Tourism Board executive director Dane Cheng Ting-yat said the number of visitors who arrived in Hong Kong in the first 20 days reached 40 percent of prepandemic levels - at about 75,000 visitors a day.

"The tourism industry is expecting even more visitors in the second half of the year," Cheng said.

He added the industry saw an increase in mainland visitors, especially those arriving via rail, while overseas arrivals are taking longer to bounce back due to air capacity constraints.

Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Kevin Yeung Yun-hung said authorities are concerned about the complaints and hoped tourists enjoy the experience in Hong Kong while minimizing their impact on locals.

"If anything needs to be done, authorities will be willing to do it," Yeung said.

Kowloon Central lawmaker Kitson Yang Wing-kit said he has consulted authorities on complaints he received from Hung Hom and To Kwa Wan residents about tourists creating disturbances in the area.

Yang said the industry can only build a good reputation if it provides high-quality experiences.

"We can't allow tourists to have low-quality experiences. That wouldn't be ideal. Tourists need to eat, play, and buy happily for a good vacation experience," he said. "But are the mainland tourists having a good experience?"

On residents' complaints about traffic jams caused by tour buses, Yang said: "Housing estates have filed complaints to me about the tour buses blocking traffic - we need to deal with this directly."

Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong chair Starry Lee Wai-king said To Kwa Wan has been "close to bursting" from the surge in tourists.

Lee, also a district councillor for To Kwa Wan North, said she has called on authorities to limit crowds by referring to Liquor Licensing Board guidelines.

"I have called on authorities to require eateries to deny services unless they implement the appropriate crowd-control measures."

Commissioner for Tourism Vivian Sum Fong-kwang said authorities will meet with the Travel Industry Authority to discuss crowd-control initiatives.

Speaking on radio, Hong Kong Inbound Tour Operators Association founding president Ricky Tse Kam-ting said the industry should establish "tourist police" to help divert traffic and maintain crowd control in popular areas.

Tse, a member of the travel authority, said such issues are inevitable, given the large number of visitors, "but the benefits outweigh the issues that need to be dealt with."

cjames.lee@singtaonewscorp.com