Govt Unveils Tourism Sector Aid, Critics Slam Plan

The government has rolled out a "cash incentive scheme" to help the ailing tourism sector, but critics have slammed the plan as futile and even benefiting some zombie companies.

The number of tourists visiting Hong Kong has been falling since the anti-government protests erupted in June and there are also fewer Hongkongers going overseas for holidays, prompting the government to act.

Under the HK$100 million plan – running from next month until the end of March – a travel agency is to get HK$120 for each overnight visitor it attracts, and HK$100 for every outbound holidaymaker. But the money for each firm is capped at HK$60,000.

Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Edward Yau said it is for the travel firms to decide how to use the money, and whether to give discounts to customers or not.

The chairman of the Travel Industry Council, Jason Wong, said the demand from people wanting to travel over Christmas remains weak, and the plan is needed to stimulate firms to find business.

But the president of the Hong Kong Inbound Tour Operators Association, Ricky Tse, said the measure wouldn’t give much help to the industry, describing it as a drop in a bucket, but “better than nothing”.

Tse said what the travel agencies need now are more tourists, and that could only be achieved by a more stable social environment. He cited Chile as an example, saying even if travellers are given US$100 as a subsidy to visit the country, no one would want to go amid the violent protests there.

The secretary general of HK Travel Industry (Outbound) Tour Escort and Tour Guide Union, Tong Kim-sang, said the measure might only benefit owners of the travel agencies, as they might pocket the money themselves rather than passing it to their workers or providing concessions to tourists.

Tong said the government should study giving subsidies to tour escorts directly if it wants to help them. He added that the government should tackle economic and livelihood issues, which are the root causes of the problem.

Democratic Party lawmaker Andrew Wan said the government plan has many loopholes and could see zombie firms filing claims to pocket the money. He said the government should provide interest-free loans to travel agencies instead of handing out cash.