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TRAVEL AND TOURISM
ex-gratia compensation was made. At the end of the year, the fund had a balance of $190 million.
In December 1994, two Hong Kong tourists were killed and 21 injured when their coach collided with a bus in Thailand. Most of the victims were not insured. The accident sparked calls in Hong Kong for the provision of mandatory insurance coverage for outbound travellers, especially those travelling as members of package
tours.
After carefully considering the views of legislators, members of the public and the travel industry, the Advisory Committee on Travel Agents (ACTA) recommended in late October 1995 that a contingency fund proposed by the TIC should be adopted for the protection of Hong Kong outbound travellers on package tours against accidents abroad, provided that the Travel Industry Compensation Fund manage- ment board should manage the funding of the scheme.
As the scheme ensures only minimum protection to outbound travellers on package tours, the ACTA also recommended that the TIC should continue to encourage travellers and travel agents to take out their own insurance policies and this should be made a requirement for compliance by all travel agents through changes to the council's codes of conduct. In late November, the management board agreed to the recommendation in principle. The government has been in close liaison with the TIC over drafting a new set of rules for implementing the contingency fund scheme. It is envisaged that the scheme will be implemented in 1996.