The sale of counterfeit goods to mainland tourists by some local shops, revealed in a programme recently broadcast by China Central Television, not only damages the interests of tourists, but also destroys the reputation of Hong Kong tourism and brings shame on Hong Kong people and Hong Kong.

The Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong (TIC) and its eight association members are gravely concerned about the hard-earned reputation of Hong Kong as a shoppers’ paradise being ruined by the selling of counterfeit goods to tourists by those shops, and strongly condemn their deplorable acts.

The TIC and its association members fully support the remedial actions taken by the authorities against those shops suspected of undesirable practices, including the dispatch of customs officers to inspect various shops, in the wake of the incident, and request that those proved to have violated the law be severely punished and that the authorities continue to dispatch law-enforcement officers to conduct regular inspections on those shops in order to prevent similar incidents from happening again.

If any travel agents or tourist guides are found to have colluded with those shops in cheating tourists, the TIC vows to impose severe penalties on them.