Tourists warned of Hong Kong 'forced to shop' schemes

Hope things have changed in the 10 years since we visited the Casbah in Morocco---
A large (Cosmos)tour bus group of us was dumped and abandoned there for an hour and (I kid you not!) held hostage by an unbelievably abusive rug merchant until one woman actually became hysterical and he realized he'd better contact our guide.
At the time, there were no cell phones, even were they able to function in that underground stone maze, and none of us could have found our way out anyway.

Most third world countries have plenty of people who take tourists around to shop for things they may not be able to find on their own with the time allotted in that area. They are called "touts" and each tout gets a kick-back or percentage of the money spent by the people they bring to that shopkeeper. I have enlisted the services of touts when looking for unique items in Southeast Asia, the Middle East Asian and Central America. I choose the tout and explain what I want and indicate I know he/she will receive compensation from the places that I purchase items, but I also explain that if I am delighted with their service they can expect a fair reward from me too. I have never been bullied by a tout who understood "my rules". Got great bargains and many unique items, and sought out some touts on return visits. So don't reject all of these people. Their skill can save you thousands of dollars. I do advise telling very agressive ones that I will not use their services. Shop as wisely for your tout as you do for your bargains and have some fun.

Hey heres a trick for you when you go on vacation stay in the USA and spend your money in our cities.

Nothing new. The same thing happens on cruise ship tours. We took a ship-sponsored tour to the cliff divers in Acapulco. It also included a tour to a "silver mine". It was nothing more than a set-up introduction to a huge silver jewelry store. The bus stayed so long there that we almost missed the cliff-divers, had to stand behind a huge crowd. We complained when we returned to the ship, but they said they just contract with the tours in Acapulco, and don't have control over what they do. In Turkey, the ship's tour to Ephesus is always cut short so the bus can take you to a "carpet factory" where you have to beg to get out without buying something.

That photo is beautiful. But another big concern for me would be whether the discount name-brand items were knock-offs. That would be the best scam... forcing tourists to purchase junk at discount designer prices!

But anyway, Chinese officials should put a few honest undercover police on these budget tours. Once a few tour guides are hanged and a few businesses get blackballed, this will fix the problem. Chinese people are smart. Obviously, some are crooks. (Hell, we ALL have crooks!) But Chinese people know the rules, but more importantly, they know the consequences for breaking the rules! Yes, bust a few and the smart businesses will once again become reputable.

The key is to NOT come across like a lost tourist. When you get in a cab, know where you want to go and be very firm about it. If you seem the least bit wishy-washy about where you're going, you'll be taken to the driver's favorite shop, whorehouse, tailor, whatever. Don't be worried about offending - for them, it's business. They aren't being hospitable; they're hustling.

We visited Guilin in China recently, it was impossible to travel without the taxi drivers deviating to favourite stores, restaurants, hotels, etc, even tricycle drivers!

I was amazed at how gullible Chinese can be, possibly because they hate to reject situations.

Even the taxi from the hotel to the airport was taking us to a wildlife park as he figured we had one hour excess time!