Recently, a City University survey conducted in the middle of last year has revealed that residents visiting and spending money in Shenzhen has a significant increase compared with the figures in 1997 as the goods there is cheaper than in Hong Kong. This result has alarmed most shop owners, business people and the Hong Kong Government that they should do something to encourage people to spend their money in Hong Kong as this is not good to the economy of Hong Kong. Hence, it・s high time we looked at this matter in depth.
In the first place, I would like to point out that it takes hours and about $60 for transport to get into Shenzhen. Of course, the goods and services are much cheaper than in Hong Kong. But, unless you spend several hundred dollars, it・s not worth the trouble. Moreover, this is the reason why the visitors from Hong Kong tend to overspend on the mainland. They often opt for high-end entertainment venues and come back with all kinds of unnecessary products. Take my auntie as an example, she used to go to mainland to shop with her friends at weekends. And after she came back from the mainland, she bought lots of products that were very cheap but she never used them. Thus, she is now worrying the there is not enough place to store all those unnecessary goods.
From another perspective, goods that are sold in Shenzhen are always
of inferior quality. Undoubtedly, there are some goods sold in Hong Kong
shops are of low quality. But, they are hardly to be seen now, as shops
in Hong Kong start to aware of their quality of products more. Besides,
when you bought a product of low quality, you can ask the shops for return
or repair. However, there are no such services provided for customers.
Furthermore, as far as I know, consumer rights are not as well safeguarded
as in Hong Kong and mainland shops are not concerned about their reputation
as their Hong Kong counter parts.
Thirdly, visitors seem to have more unhappy encounters in Shenzhen than in Hong Kong such as food hygiene, fire safety, and even subjected to robberies and other crimes. Most have virtually no idea about how to complain to the authorities. Back to my auntie again, she had an awful experience that she had been cheated by the sellers in Shenzhen. She asked that shops for refund, and she certainly couldn・t get anything back but receiving lots of ．four letters words・.
Hong Kong residents go to Shenzhen to shop because they coupled with a sense of novelty and curiosity, Mainland has become a haven for holidaymakers who find Hong Kong too boring and expensive. However, there are some solutions to clear these wrong concepts. First of all, the Government should encourage the public transport companies to allow senior citizens and children to travel free, so giving families another reason to head out. Then, the Government should also persuade cinemas, restaurants and other facilities to reduce their admission price. Last but not least,creating better atmosphere in festival season can help to encourage people spend their money in Hong Kong, and so it・s a must we deal with this matter immediately.
Chris
