A lawmaker said on Friday new consumer protection regulations for the Greater Bay Area will help consumers make better choices and strengthen trust in cross‑boundary shopping.

Under the plan, consumer councils in Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau will strengthen cooperation through information sharing, handling cross‑boundary complaints and issuing joint risk warnings.

Speaking on an RTHK programme, Chan Hoi-yan said Hong Kong people often face difficulties when they need to complain about purchases made on the mainland.

She added that it is not just about shopping – some Hongkongers also go north for dental work like teeth cleaning or implants, and often face problems that need resolving after they return.

"If we can have joint investigations across all these places, you can imagine there'll be a lot of reference data in the future," she said.

"You won't have to rely on influencers online or word of mouth to choose a dental clinic, a hospital, or a nursing home. There will be much more objective quality surveys and consumer market research."

Speaking on the same programme, another lawmaker, Perry Yiu, said Hong Kong should also strengthen collaboration with mainland cities to help boost tourism.

He said many overseas travellers already come to Hong Kong via mainland hubs like Beijing and Shanghai.

"By strengthening cooperation between the two sides, we can channel more of these tourists to Hong Kong and offer them multi‑destination itineraries. I believe this will help broaden our visitor base," he said.


Edited by Aaron Tam