A TUEN MUN District Board member has admitted helping to arrange overseas tours without a licence and using a district service centre to do so.
The Tuen Mun District Service Centre, whose committee members include district board members Willy Ng Wai-cho, Chu Cho-yan and Sung King-fai, has arranged tours in conjunction with the Eternal East Tours travel agency, both sides have confirmed.
The Sunday Morning Post signed up at the service centre for a two-day tour to the mainland. The receipt issued indicated the tour was organised by the District Service Centre, using Eternal East Tours stationery, but with no licence number.
Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong (TIC) executive director Siu King-Sun said any organisation providing 'out of town tours' for profit had to register as a member of the TIC and possess a licence issued by the Travel Agency Registry. Such an organisation was contravening the Travel Agencies Ordinance if it failed to obtain a licence, or if its advertisements failed to show its licence number.
Tuen Mun District Service Centre chairman Tse Yee-fong acknowledged the centre had organised tours in association with Eternal East since December.
'We are aware that our practice is not in accordance with the ordinance, but we are not doing this for profit; we are just serving our local constituents,' he said.
