PRICE-FIXING in the travel industry will no longer have a place in Hong Kong as a new government rule kicks into effect, but travel consultants are not all happy about it.
The government’s Competition Ordinance will be implemented later this year and the Travel Industry Council (TIC) has started to amend or revoke certain directives to avoid contravening the new ruling.
TIC rescinded its Directive number 215 on June 1, which set a price ceiling for service charges on outbound package tours, including the service fee that tour guides receive at the end of a tour that is not included in published package prices.
Yet Michael Wu, TIC chairman, predicted: “Though the Ordinance aims to offer fair competition in the market, I reckon there will be more consumer complaints in future as it creates chaos when (the tour guide fee) varies between one travel agency to another.”
Travel consultants in small- to medium-size agencies, such as Sef Lam, director of Via Vai Travel, prefer the previous system that had a guiding rate as it was easier, while others questioned the need to remove the practice.
Blue Sky Travel’s managing director, Angela Ng, commented: “This means big players have the liberty to charge freely. Why don’t we have a fixed pricing system? Travel consultants can then win the hearts of consumers or set themselves apart from the rest by the quality of their services or products.”
But at least one travel agency is keeping the tour guide fee unchanged. Sunflower Travel Services’ managing director, Cindy Young, said: “Our fee remains the same as before but we removed the phrase ‘Recommended by TIC’.”
Young said she would take a wait-and-see approach, adding: “Our concern is that some travel consultants will use the fee price to compete for business or poach quality tour guides by lowering their rebate rate of the fee.”
The rebate rate is the percentage of the tour guide fee that the tour guide owes the travel agency.
