A recent 'tourism nightmare' experienced by a group from Qinghai Province visiting Hong Kong has shone a light on problems in the treatment of mainland sightseers to the Special Administrative Region (SAR).

The group was on a three-day shopping and sightseeing tour to Hong Kong last weekend when they were suddenly abandoned by their guide, as he did not feel they were spending enough money.

In recent weeks, there have been reports of mainland tourists being forced to stay in shops for extended periods of time and pressured into buying things they do not want, or being taken to unpleasant locations as "punishment" for refusing to purchase goods.

The guide in this weekend's incident has been suspended for two weeks and given a warning letter by the tour company.

However, some industry peers say the punishment does not go far enough, especially given the potential damage such practices can do to Hong Kong's image as a tourist-friendly destination.

"The problem is that local tour companies have these 'zero-fee' arrangements with mainland travel agents," says Michael Shi, manager of the Inbound Chinese Visitors Department at China Travel Service.

"While the mainland agents collect fees from their customers, they pay no money to local operators who handle the tours. This means these companies have to make their money on commission earned when the tourists shop."

Shi estimates that around 60 per cent of local tour operators work on this basis, making zero-fee tours more of an industry-wide practice than an anomaly in a city where competition for tour groups is intense.

Rather than eliminating what nowadays appears to be a business staple, a better solution lies in improvements in three areas, industry insiders say.

One measure is stiffer penalties for operators caught carrying out unscrupulous practices.

Other solutions would be better control of mainland travel agencies, with the help of the China National Tourism Association, and, most importantly, continuing to make mainland tourists more aware of their rights as travellers and consumers.

Last year, some 23 million visitors came to the SAR, of which around 12 million were from the mainland.

With mainland travellers such an important source of tourism income, the SAR's tourism chiefs are now scrambling for solutions.

As well as the punishments meted out, the SAR's Travel Industry Council is due to meet representatives from the CNTA shortly to discuss what other action can be taken.

An official surnamed Liu with Qinghai Provincial Tourism Administration admitted little could be done about the role of mainland travel agents.

"It is difficult for us to...prevent this weekend's case happening again.

"The current laws and regulations need to be improved, and consumers should not be fooled by a low price," he said.

But Liu added that if the agency was found to have violated rules, its licence could be revoked and other punishments issued.