Repairing the damage to our hard-won reputation (23 April 2007)

What price a reputation? How much does it cost a person, a business or a city if they lose a spotless reputation?

In recent weeks, Hong Kong has received a bitter lesson in the value of reputation. Our hard-earned status as a premier tourist destination and a shoppers' paradise has been sullied by the actions of a handful of cheats who have swindled some of the 13 million mainlanders who visit Hong Kong every year. This group has shamelessly conned tourists into buying counterfeit and overpriced goods at designer-brand prices, exploiting their vulnerability as visitors to turn a dishonest profit.

Their actions are deplorable and inexcusable. Although these rogue traders, who operate only in about 50 shops, are a small minority when compared with the overwhelming majority of honest shopkeepers, the impact has been devastating.

We will all pay the penalty. In the Labour Day golden week holiday, we may see between 5 per cent and 10 per cent fewer mainland visitors, as they stay away because of the negative television coverage.

In their efforts to steal a few thousand dollars from each tourist, this unethical minority will cost Hong Kong dearly, leaving us short of tens of thousands of visitors and millions of dollars in tourism revenue.

As Tourism Board chairman, I am deeply concerned. And I am determined to see that we do everything in our power to repair the damage to Hong Kong's reputation and ensure visitors are neither cheated nor mistreated.

It is not only our tourism industry that is at stake; our whole economy depends heavily on it. It was the influx of mainland visitors after the 2003 severe acute respiratory syndrome crisis that revived our fortunes and triggered the present boom.

So what can we do? In short, we can all work together to show that those who rip off tourists are not representative of our city, but a minority whose behaviour will not be tolerated and whose offences will be punished promptly and severely.

We are working closely with the government, the Travel Industry Council, the Consumer Council and the China National Tourism Administration to combat the problem, particularly by eliminating the economically unviable zero-fee mainland package tours. With the concerted effort of these partners, I am confident we can manage this problem.

Police and customs officers are stepping up checks on retailers and doing spot checks on outlets to make sure they are trading fairly. Consumer protection legislation is being reviewed and the 100-per-cent refund for Travel Industry Council-registered shops is being extended from 14 days to six months from June 1.

Criminal prosecution aside, shops found guilty of ripping off visitors face harsher penalties under the council's demerit point system. Any shop deregistered in the previous 12 months will be refused the opportunity to reopen and seek fresh victims.

To counter the negative publicity, we have contacted several leading national TV stations, and are working closely with producers to provide interviews and features that put this problem into context and show our city in a more favourable light.

Tomorrow morning, we will distribute new leaflets at the Lo Wu border crossing, informing visitors of their consumer rights, so they can shop with confidence.

It should be emphasised that most of the 26 million visitors are not affected. The vast majority of traders in Hong Kong are honest, friendly and fair. Most holidays in Hong Kong are free of any unpleasantness.

Our challenge is to stamp out the dirty dealings of a handful. We must use this golden week as an opportunity to demonstrate to our valued guests that we will not tolerate such dishonesty. That way we can begin to restore the reputation that so many honest people have worked so hard to build, and undo the damage wreaked by so few in such a short period of time.