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The following is the transcript of remarks made by the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mrs Rita Lau, to the media after a meeting with board members of the Travel Industry Council (TIC) today (July 22) :
Reporter: Have you discussed whether the Government should stop allowing the TIC to issue tour guide licences to avoid similar incidents from happening again?
Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development: There are already well-established procedures under the TIC to deal with violations of the codes issued to tour guides, and there is a committee to deal with any breaches or any misconduct. This is a very important responsibility of the TIC to continue to enforce the regulatory provisions governing the conduct and the level of services provided by tour guides. The special task force that has been set up will look deeper into the whole system regarding the qualifications required of tour guides before they could be issued tour guide licences. There is also the need to look at any enforcement aspects which will facilitate the compliance of any standards required of a tour guide. This will be one of the areas that the special task force will be examining in the next two months.
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)
Ends/Thursday, July 22, 2010
Issued at HKT 16:50
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