Counting the hidden cost of cheap vacations

Police reconstruct the scene of a crime after an incident at a store in Hong Kong when a tourist from the mainland was allegedly beaten unconscious by four men while mediating in a shopping dispute. The victim died the next day.[Photo provided to China Daily]

Visitors on 'negative-fee' tours of Hong Kong and Macao have been subjected to scams, 'forced shopping' and threats as agencies and storekeepers collude to boost profits, report Su Zhou in Beijing and Kahon Chan in Hong Kong.

Qiu Min had a sense of déjà vu when she read about a 53-year-old tourist from the mainland who was beaten to death on Oct 19 as he attempted to intervene in a dispute over "forced shopping" at a jewelry store in Hong Kong.

On Thursday, the store owner, a 59-year-old woman, was detained by customs officials on charges unrelated to the man's death after other customers complaint about coercion.

The news reminded Qin of a group tour she joined at the end of September, during which she and her fellow travelers to Hong Kong and Macao were pressured into purchasing unwanted items.

"I was nervous and worried throughout the trip. The tour group was like an army with a tight schedule, and the guide was a harsh commander. We had to do everything she told us, including shopping at places we didn't want to visit," said the 53-year-old former employee of a State-owned enterprise.

The Hunan province resident said she grudgingly accepted the "uncomfortable treatment" because the six-day package cost just 500 yuan ($79), and she didn't dare argue with the tour guide for fear of being abandoned in Hong Kong, which she had never visited before.

"Last time I quarreled with a tour guide was in Beijing in 2002. As a result, I was abandoned, and had to book a return train ticket myself. It was a horrible experience," she said. "In Hong Kong, I couldn't speak the language (Cantonese), and didn't know how to seek help from the police."

An industry insider on the mainland with long experience in outsourcing outbound tourism from a State-owned travel company, said cheap trips with "shopping traps" are common, especially those to Hong Kong, Macao and Yunnan province.