Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong

The definition of "advertisement":

The word "advertisement" means either paid or unpaid for communication, whether in cash or in kind, addressed to the public or a section of it, the purpose of which is to influence the opinions or behaviour of those to whom it is addressed with a view to advancing the sale of any particular product or service of any member, and which includes information accessed via electronic means by the public or a section of it (including Internet users).

1. General

   1. Any member that wishes to publish the name or logo of the TIC shall obtain prior approval from the TIC by submitting written application to the Executive Office, with the only exception of using the name or logo of the TIC solely for the purpose of reflecting the membership of the TIC.

   2. A member shall not publicise the validity period of its travel agent's licence in any of its advertising materials.

   3. A member shall not include the name of another member in any of its advertising materials unless prior consent from that other member has been obtained.

   4. All advertisements which are misleading or confusing, whether intentional or unintentional, shall also be subject to investigation, compliance and punitive action.

   5. Prior approval shall be obtained from the TIC Executive Office for any member claiming it is "the number one", "the best in Hong Kong", "the sole agent" or "the sole representative", etc. . . in such an advertisement. The claim shall be substantiated with evidence. Members shall state clearly in the same position where the receipt of an award is advertised the name of the awarding institution and the adjudication period, using a font size not smaller than 50 per cent of that used for the title of the award.

   6. All advertisements inserted by members shall clearly specify whether they are meant for package tours or air passage fares. Members shall clearly state in their advertisements the prices for all travel products such as package tours, air tickets and cruises.

   7. Advertisements for products claiming to be "travel packages" shall state clearly all components of the products. Otherwise, the word "package" or other terms to that effect shall not be used in advertisements.

2. Ticket
   8. If the advertisement is meant for air passage sales, members shall indicate whether the fare is for one way or round trip, together with the full or abbreviated name or the logo of the relevant carrier(s). All passage fares so advertised shall be based on adult fares. Other fares, including child and infant fare, shall be placed together with the corresponding adult fare, and clearly so indicated. Besides, the size of which shall be identical throughout.

   9. Members shall ensure that all ticket fares advertised are true and available to all clients.

   10. All the wording and terms used in an advertisement relating to airfares shall be in the same language as the advertising media.

3. Package Tour
   11. If the advertisement is meant for package tour, the price, duration and the full or abbreviated name or the logo of the relevant carrier(s) shall be clearly mentioned. The quoted tour price shall be based on adult half-twin and economy class passage. If the tour price includes contents different from this standard, for example, business class/first class passage, single room, ocean view room or suite, etc, it shall be clearly stated. If discounted tour prices are offered conditionally, such prices shall be placed alongside their corresponding non-discounted tour prices (the font size for both kinds of prices shall be identical), with the conditions for the discounts, including age, sex, etc, clearly stated.

   12. A member shall clearly indicate in its advertisement the city from which the flight first departs for outbound package tours using non-direct flights. It shall also clearly indicate in its advertisement the mode of transportation for outbound package tours not involving air transportation. If the outbound package tour is not departing from Hong Kong, the member shall state clearly the point of departure. All advertisements for free package tours and one day tours that commence and complete within the same day in a place outside Hong Kong shall state clearly that such tours are not covered by the Travel Industry Compensation Fund and the Package Tour Accident Contingency Fund Scheme.

   13. Under no circumstances shall a member advertise the offer of any form of refund or compensation.

   14. Members shall not be allowed to advertise or promote solely or jointly with other company/companies/firm(s) to sell package tours below the prices registered with the TIC, notwithstanding that any discount is borne by the other parties of the joint promotion.

   15. Members may include in a package tour articles or services which are directly related to the tour and which can be used during the journey, but shall not advertise their monetary value.

   16. Members shall not advertise any gift / present (including lucky draw prizes) in connection with a package tour, or the provision to tour members of any form of arrangements through which concessionary services / products can be obtained with the exception of travelling bags, calendars, sun caps or travel insurance provided that their monetary value (bar that of travel insurance) is not mentioned. In addition, after the departure of package tours, members shall not advertise in the mass media (i.e. newspapers, magazines, radio, television, etc) the offering of gifts or the provision of any form of arrangements through which concessionary services / products can be obtained. This regulation does not apply to those gifts, or concessionary services / products offered by tourism bureaux, or flying mileage offered by airlines.