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Message from Legislative Councillor
Functional Constituency Representative for Wholesale & Retail
立法會議員之話 批發及零售界功能組別代表
Hon. Vincent Fang, SBS, JP
方剛先生
台灣在
6
月
28
日正式對大陸旅客開放自由行。開放前夕，
台灣媒體來電問及香港開放予內地居民到港自由行有哪些
正面與負面經驗？是正面的多還是負面的影響佔多，希望
汲取作為台灣業者的借鏡。
雖然開放內地居民來港自由行對香港也有帶來一些負面影
響，但整體而言，絕對是利大於弊，最正面和直接的是整
體社會均享受到自由行帶來的經濟效益和香港在內地旅客
心中的形象提升。因為，過去內地居民來港，除探親外，
旅遊只能透過參加旅行團，遊客在香港的活動基本上都
受到旅行社行程的限制，由住宿、旅遊觀光以至購物、飲
食，全由旅行社包辦，其他的商戶能夠分享到的經濟效益
非常有限！
旅客本身因為行程的限制，變成無從親身體會香港這美食
天堂和購物天堂帶給他們的樂趣。在開放自由行之前，我
經常聽到參加旅遊團的旅客說：「哎！說香港做海鮮做得
很好，但來香港都沒有吃過海鮮！」旅客批評香港購物的
就更多，即使是今天不斷有保障遊客購物的措施出台，但
遊客在購物時出現爭執、不愉快亦時有發生，令香港購物
天堂美譽受損！
但在開放自由行之後，由於資訊發達，遊客都可以按自己
的要求選擇住宿、旅遊、購物、飲食，令所有商戶都處於
一個公開的競爭平台，大家都有機會做到內地遊客的生
意，對香港整體零售、飲食、酒店、甚至交通行業都帶來
裨益。但最令人意想不到的是，當內地旅客能夠認識和體
會真正的香港之後，的確令不少人對香港的印象改觀，覺
得這是一個非常方便、充滿驚喜的城市，購物更是貨真價
實，儘管投機商人是無處不在，但整體評價都是正面的，
因此，「回頭旅客」是不斷增加，為香港注入一股強大的
消費力。
Taiwan started allowing mainland Chinese travellers to visit on
their own, outside of tour groups from June 28, the so called
individual travelling scheme. Taiwanese media were interested
to know whether this arrangement has been beneficial to
Hong Kong and whether we have any experience that could
be shared with Taiwan.
Hong Kong did have some negative experiences with the
individual travelling scheme but in general, the scheme
has more merits than demerits for Hong Kong. The most
visible and direct benefit was economic boom we have been
enjoying and the improved image of Hong Kong amongst
mainlanders. In the past, when mainland visitors came to
Hong Kong, they had to come in a group with considerable
constraints on their ability to freely choose what to see and
where to shop and eat, since practically everything would
have to be arranged by a travel agent. Economic benefits to
other merchants and restaurateurs were very limited under
those circumstances.
For the visitors, they were also unable to make the most
out of their trip and enjoy the best that could be offered by
Hong Kong such as our famous cuisine and the pleasure in
unrestricted shopping. This has also led to a relatively high
number of complaints from the mainland visitors damaging
our reputation as a shoppers’ and travellers’ paradise.
After the launch of the individual travelling scheme, visitors
from the mainland are able to pick and choose their preferred
hotels, shops and places to enjoy their food as they are
exposed to a vast amount of information available in the
market. This has benefited the retail, catering, hotel and
transportation trades etc. One unexpected bonus we gained
is the improved image of Hong Kong amongst mainland
travelers as a city where they can find excellent value in
shopping. As a result, the number of “returnees” has grown
cont inuousl y, gi v ing Hong Kong a s trong boos t in our
domestic consumption.
One other major legislation that has caused concern to retailers
is the Plastic Shopping Bag Levy. The Environmental Protection
Department is pleased with the encouraging results of the first
phase. On 17 May, the Department issued a public consultation
paper on the extension of the Environmental Levy Scheme on
Plastic Shopping Bag. On one hand, the Association welcomes the
Government's proposal to ban free distribution of Plastic Shopping
Bags and extend the Scheme to cover all retailers. On the other
hand, we are concerned about the implementation of the second
phase. Clarifications are needed in a number of areas and these
include the definition of the indiscriminate use of Plastic Shopping
Bags, exemption provisions, the inclusion of flat top bags in the
Scheme ... etc. Members should rest assured that the Association
will collect feedback from members and do a submission to reflect
the views of the trade.
On the lighter side, I am pleased to report that the Association
managed to obtain for the second time the Small and Medium
Enterprise (SME) Fund from the Trade and Industry Department
in mid of May. We shall be rolling out a number of free services
for SME retailers. These include a SME Retail Conference, Retail
Workshops, Mystery Shoppers Programme and SME Open Day. On
these programmes, we encourage participation from the SMEs as all
of these activities are free of charge.
The 2011 Retail Conference - Success and Sustainability was held
on 12 May. You will be glad to learn that we registered a full house
attendance of over 600. On behalf of the Association, I would like
to offer our heartfelt thanks to our prominent speakers, generous
sponsors, fellow retailers and audience. Without their continued
support, we may not be able to successfully run the event for years.
As for the Association's flagship programme, Service & Courtesy
Award 2011, we started off with the Service Forum on 5 May which
was well attended by some 300 participants. Enrolment has closed
and we have received record high responses from 787 participants,
representing 135 brands. The first phase of assessment (Mystery
Shoppers assessment) has already begun and we believe the
participants will do their utmost to meet with the challenges.
For the 13
th
time, the Association is the leading organizer for the
2011 Hong Kong Awards for Industries: Customer Service. It is an
annual event in the Association’s calendar. Taking this opportunity,
I wish to send our warmest congratulations to the winners and
sincere thanks to the panel of judges for their support over the years.
The Award Presentation Ceremony and Gala Dinner took place on
30 June and it turned out to be a splendid event.
Another year has passed and the Association is making preparation
for the 28
th
Annual General Meeting to be held on 7 October. We
are glad to have Mr Y K Pang, the recently elected Chairman of
Employers Federation of Hong Kong, to be our Guest Speaker this
year. Mr Pang will share with us his insights on various manpower
subjects. We very much look forward to our meeting with Mr Pang
at JW Marriott Hong Kong.
Our other major event—Annual Ball 2011—is scheduled on 19
December and the Hon Eva Cheng, JP, Secretary for Transport and
Housing, has kindly consented to be our officiating guest. On
the subject, I wish to share with you another piece of good news.
Riding on the success of last year and the overwhelming response
from participating companies of the flagship programmes, we are
confident to achieve a breakthrough this year. As such, we have
secured the Grand Hall of the HKCEC as the venue for the Annual
Ball this year. With a bigger capacity to accommodate our VIP
guests, members, business partners, winners of our, we definitely
need your swerving support and active participation.
Retail sales continue to exhibit strong growth and performance for
the first five months of the year. Looking ahead, improving job and
income prospects, coupled with further growth in Mainland Chinese
tourist arrivals, should continue to provide support for retail sales
this year.
另一項引起零售商關注的主要法例是塑膠購物袋環保徵費。環
保署表示，第一階段計劃的成效顯著，並於
5
月
17
日發佈了擴
展塑膠購物袋環保徵費計劃的公開咨詢文件。本協會歡迎政府
提議禁止免費派發塑膠購物袋，並將徵費計劃擴展至適用於所
有零售商。可是，第二階段計劃在推行方面尚有相當多有待澄
清的地方，包括如何定義「濫用」塑膠購物袋、豁免條件的細
則，以及將平口袋納入徵費範圍等。本協會將收集會員對這議
題的意見，並積極向當局反映業界的關注。
讓我們轉換一些較輕鬆的話題。我很高興本協會在
5
月中再次
取得工業貿易署的中小企業發展支援基金資助，就此我們將會
推出一系列為中小企零售商而設的免費服務，包括中小企零售
研討會、零售工作坊、神秘顧客計劃及中小企開放日。所有活
動的費用全免，希望中小企同業積極參與！
「卓越零售．持續成就」
2011
零售研討會已於
5
月
12
日成功
舉行。我們欣悉研討會獲一眾會員熱烈參與，出席人數逾
600
人，全場爆滿。本協會謹此對出色的講者、慷慨的贊助商、零
售商及與會的觀眾表達誠摯的謝意。沒有他們鼎力的支持，這
項活動不會如此成功地舉辦多年。
至於我們的旗艦活動「
2011
傑出服務獎」，已於
5
月
5
日舉行
的「零售服務研討會」正式揭開序幕，當日出席人數超過
300
人。今年的「傑出服務獎」已經截止報名，本會喜悉參賽者數
目再度刷新紀錄，共
787
名參賽者代表
135
個品牌角逐殊榮。第
一階段（神秘顧客評審）現已展開，我們相信參賽者定會全力
以赴迎接挑戰。
「
2011
香港工業獎：顧客服務」已順利完成，我很高興本協會
已連續第
13
屆擔任主辦機構，這項每年一度的盛事已成為本協
會活動年誌中的重要項目之一。
6
月
30
日舉行的頒獎禮及晚宴
在熱鬧氣氛下盛大舉行，我藉此衷心祝賀今屆各得獎機構，以
及感謝評審團多年來的支持。
本協會的新一年快將過去，我們亦正籌備將於
10
月
7
日舉行的
周年大會。我們很榮幸邀請了剛被選任為香港僱主聯合會主席
的彭耀佳先生擔任主講嘉賓，他將和我們分享人力資源方面的
精闢見解。我們非常期待在周年大會上與彭先生會面。
另一項重大盛事 －
2011
年周年晚會已定於
12
月
19
日舉行，晚
會獲得運輸及房屋局局長鄭汝樺女士俯允出席，擔任主禮嘉
賓。去年的盛事獲會員及同業踴躍參與，取得空前成功，加強
了我們今年再接再厲、創出突破的信心。我們特別安排了會展
的
Grand Hall
作為會場，希望可容納更多貴賓、會員、業務夥伴
及得獎單位。當然，我們更加需要會員鼎力支持和參與。
今年首
5
個月，零售銷貨均保持強勁的增長。展望未來，隨着
就業及收入情況得到改善，加上訪港中國大陸旅客人數持續增
長，我們相信會為今年的零售業帶來支持！
4
5
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