Hong Kong: “zero-charge” tours · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

The “zero-charge” tours scandal is a distinctive “free-meal” feature in Chinese capitalist society. It happens in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, targeting at Mainland China tourists.
How does this “zero-charge” tours come into being? Chong interlocals.net gives some background on the issue:
Incredibly low fees or “zero-charge” tours are strategies to lure people to join tours and the travel agencies make money by forcing tourists to buy souvenirs from shops who offer commissions to tour guides and travel agencies. In order to reduce cost to minimum, accomodation and meal are certainly low quality. In some cases, the tour guides only lead the tourists to designated shops rather than any tourist attractions.
Suggestion coming from the Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong that the industry should set the lowest charge for the tours. Knowledge workshop points out that price control wouldn't work:
雖然不少被劏的旅行團團費也很低，但亦有一些收費不低的「豪華團」也有類似遭遇。因此，可行建議可以是要求接待旅行社必須提供書面的行程說明供團友，並需保存記錄供有關監管機構查閱。接待旅行社亦不可隨意修改行程，所有修改必須有書面記錄。
Apart from monitoring the tourist routes, knowledge workshop also suggests to monitor the commissions:
雖然有人認為回佣是自由商業行為的一部份，亦存在於各地旅遊業，實在不宜作過度干預。但是，如果回佣達到傳聞的50%-60%，實在成為了一種暴利，政府便有了干預的必要…
Ngai, who is about to get the license as professional tourist guide, explains the difficult situation of tourist guide in Hong Kong:
導遊的生存空間很窄狹, 沒有固定底薪, 生活只靠佣金和少量的服務費, 人客不購物, 也就是取得車馬費的義務工作…..而旅行社更要從導遊這份”人工”當中, 收取部份來作旅行團的雜費, 而且有時候還是導遊預先支付, 就是說, 人客不購物到一能金額, 導遊也就是給錢來替人工作……這能想像到導遊為什麼會冒著停牌的危險來逼人客來買東西…..所謂”逼虎跳牆”….
Ryan felt that it was wrong for the Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong to address the issue as a moral problem, it is a pure economic issue:
國內辦這些旅行團的旅行社是渾蛋，但香港旅行社絕對是自找，零團費的旅行團根本不應該接，接，除了砍團友外，根本不可能賺錢，而且如此殺雞取卵，能殺多少次？難道中國１３億的人都會親自來被宰一次才會醒悟麻？破壞了香港的旅遊業，做臭了香港的名聲，對誰有好處？香港旅遊業開甚麼會，甚麼研究導遊操守，都是屁話。