Hong Kong tourist retailer Asiamart has released comments on the Hong Kong government's "Refund Protection Scheme for Mainland China's Inbound Tour Group Shoppers".

Asiamart reports that it has registered with the Travel Industry Council under the new rules, and has begun offering a 180-day refund policy to its customers.

"We believe the new Refund Protection Scheme will help boost confidence among China inbound visitors in the Hong Kong retail sector," said Alex Yue, chairman and CEO of Asiamart. "However, we anticipate a certain amount of unavoidable abuse of the new refund rules by certain customers, which will result in an increase in returned products. We believe that retailers such as Asiamart that offer quality, genuine branded products will benefit in the long run from these heightened industry standards. However, we are preparing to weather adjustments in this industry that we anticipate may last for 12 months or longer."

The scheme was recently enacted by the Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong and is a consumer protection scheme aimed at protecting the consumer rights of mainland China's tourist visitors, and improving the service standards in the industry.

The new refund scheme became effective on June 15, 2007. Under the Refund Protection Scheme, retailers who intend to arrange for mainland China's inbound group visitors must register with the Travel Industry Council and one of the conditions of registration is that registered retailers shall offer six-month, full refund protection to mainland China's inbound group visitors. As a part of the conditions of the Refund Protection Scheme, registered retailers must assist tour operators and inbound visitors seeking refunds. Registered retailers who fail to comply may be subjected to penalties imposed by the Travel Industry Council.

Asiamart disclosed that the number of China inbound visitors to its stores dropped significantly in May 2007, partially because of a shift toward individual travel as opposed to group tours. The number of visitors per day to its stores dropped from 1,219 to 1,081 in the two month period of April – May 2007 compared with the first two months of the first quarter of 2007.

Meanwhile, spending per capita decreased from US$82 to US$72 during the period from April – May 2007 compared with the first two months of the first quarter of 2007.

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