A company linked to forced shopping has been banned from receiving inbound tour groups for 30 days.

The Travel Industry Authority said on Tuesday that the suspension of Kaiser Jewellery International Limited, which is registered under the Administrative Scheme for Registered Shops for Inbound Tour Groups, will last from Wednesday to September 24.

The shop sells various items including jewellery and clothing.

The authority said it had failed to prevent forced shopping involving mainland visitors in February.

It also failed to take appropriate measures to ensure that no unauthorised personnel would carry out promotional activities inside the store, the authority added.

The watchdog said it has zero tolerance for forced shopping and any behaviour that damages the reputation of Hong Kong’s tourism industry.

It also ordered directors, managers and all frontline staff of the shop to complete training courses within a month.

The authority added that it had engaged in exchanges with mainland authorities to step up supervision.

DAB lawmaker Nixie Lam welcomed the 30-day suspension, saying any misconduct that harms tourists’ interests and damages Hong Kong’s image must be punished.

“It does send a pretty powerful industry-wide reminder that those registered shops cannot simply just profit from doing this sort of thing,” she told RTHK.

“I think it is important for all those shop owners and also their shop staff to understand that pressuring visitors or having all these sort of illegal acts are something that we really need to stop immediately.”

She added that all registered shops authorised to receive tour groups are duty-bound to protect the interests of travellers.



Edited by Edmond Fong