The Tourist Guide Deliberation Committee of the Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong (TIC) met this afternoon (3 November 2006) to deliberate on the case where a tourist guide had recently abandoned a tour group from Qinghai province.

Also, the TIC’s Compliance Committee is scheduled to meet on 8 November 2006 to deliberate on the case where a member agent was involved in providing reception services for the tour group mentioned above.

Mr Joseph Tung, Executive Director of the TIC, remarked, “Although the Tourist Guide Deliberation Committee has already handled the case where the tourist guide was involved, it has decided to announce the deliberation result concerning the tourist guide together with that concerning the travel agent, which will be decided by the Compliance Committee on 8 November. The reason why such a decision about the announcement arrangement is made is that the Committee hopes that some members of the public will not think that the TIC is not even-handed in handling tourist guides and travel agents that have violated rules of the TIC.”