Is forced shopping still a big problem.. I know this was an issue before but not sure if it still is, at least for these recent reports which seem to be caused mostly by inconsiderate vendors..
See, reactions like these really frustrate me:
Based on the soundbites in some articles, a lot seem happy with their tour experience but so what.. How we position and market HK as a tourist attraction should matter to us, even if the tour groups dun mind low-quality. No one's saying it has to be pricey but good value/affordable isn't the same as pricing to be dirt cheap. Backpackers are probably the most budget travellers but we don't consider them low quality even if they're paying US$5 a night for a bed but that's because they're here on their own. If the HK side tour agencies are still booking mainland tours for zero fee + shopping like before where they earn via commission from shop, then yes ban the practice. Why even zero fee to begin with, cuz we want tourists to go back home and sell HK as dirt cheap destination? >.<Kowloon Central lawmaker Kitson Yang Wing-kit - "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?"
Going for "high quality" tourists isn't being snobby, it's something a few other countries have alr been trying to do. This is almost the same problem as the golden visa where the programs end earlier than expected due to over whelming response. The average financial level and ease of mobility globally means travel is no longer special like before and unless we start being more discerning abt the actual impact of each tourist dollar on home economy, continuing to price things cheap using the old logic that there can be no downside to volume biz is just silly..