I am deeply honoured to have been elected new Chairman of the TIC in early December this year, and will spare no effort in serving the industry and the public.
During the past few months, both the outbound and inbound sectors have established firm footholds on the path of recovery, and judging from that, it is very likely that next year will see further improvement in business. Having said that, there are several issues which the industry still needs to tackle.
For instance, members have been pestered by the airlines’ commission cut policy for quite a while. I believe what needs to be done urgently is to tell the consumers loud and clear that it is most reasonable for travel agents to charge a service fee after providing services for them.
The past year has seen a rising trend in the number of complaints about inbound tours, and many mainland group visitors complained that they were unable to get refunds for items bought at shops registered with the TIC. Two years ago, it was also the shopping arrangements for mainland group visitors that had severely dented their interest in travelling to Hong Kong. Let’s hope we can all learn a lesson from that so that the whole industry will not suffer again.
The TIC has always committed itself to greater transparency and better communication with members. For example, the minutes of the Board of Directors meetings have already been uploaded to the TIC website, and beginning from January next year, members may browse the agendas and minutes of the meetings of the Board, committees and working groups on the TIC website.
As for communication with members, I hope to have more face-to-face communication with members in the future in order to enhance understanding between the TIC and its members and to make long-term development of the industry smoother.
I wish all traders a prosperous new year!
Michael Wu
29 December 2009