Most Hong Kong people agree the Travel Industry Council should lose its regulatory authority and be replaced by a new body to supervise the city's tourism sector, according to a survey released Thursday done by the Democratic Party.

The survey conducted on Feb 11-17 shows that nearly half of the respondents favored the proposal of handing over the council's functions to a government department for overall regulation of the industry, while another 30 percent supported the idea of turning the council into a statutory body.

Chairman Michael Wu Siu-ying of the council said Thursday in a telephone interview with China Daily that the council is "open to all options proposed by the administration" and it will take both public views and industry requests into consideration.

But he insisted "the council has its value."

In the survey, over 70 percent of 521 respondents agreed that Hong Kong's image was blemished by the recent spate of ugly incidents between the city's tour guides and mainland tourists.

About half of respondents said they did not feel the government has done a competent job of supervising the industry, with nearly 40 percent saying the government had shown extreme incompetence.

Sitting on the council's 29- member board are 17 members who are from the travel industry. That has given rise to criticisms relating to the council's effectiveness.

The government has put forward four options for reforming regulation of the local tourism industry for consultation. The consultation to last for two or three months will commence in April, according to a paper sent by the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau to the Legislative Council for discussion on Feb 28.

One proposal suggests replacing the council with a new statutory body, with the number of non-trade directors increased to form the majority of its board.

Other proposals include revamping the composition of the council's board of directors, and transferring to government departments certain disciplinary functions including inspection, regulation of tourist guides and handling of non-compliance and appeal cases.

Democratic Party legislator Fred Li Wah-ming said the survey indicates that the travel industry is lacking proper regulation at present and a prompt official intervention is necessary.

"The public opt for having an independent body to regulate the industry rather than a mere revamping of the council," Li said.

In response to public concerns over the high cost of setting a new independent body or the government taking over supervision, Commissioner for Tourism Philip Yung Wai-hung said each proposal has its own merits and shortcomings, but he declined to answer if the cost was one of the considerations.

Paul Tse Wai-chun, a lawmaker from the tourism sector, said the option of setting up a statutory body is acceptable but a government department is ideal in terms of enforcing policy.

"To make certain policies work is usually a collaboration of different bureaux," he said.

China Daily

(HK Edition 02/25/2011 page1)