Members of Hong Kong’s travel industry and mainland visitors have cautioned against adopting a proposal to cap the number of budget tours to the city floated after residents in one neighbourhood complained about crowded streets, which no longer appeared to be a problem after new measures were adopted.

The industry representatives and tourists were responding to the call by Starry Lee Wai-king, the city’s sole delegate to the nation’s top legislative body, for the city to stop leaving the door wide open for budget tour groups from the mainland, warning the situation would only worsen during the “golden week” in May.

Lee, chairwoman of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, told a district council meeting earlier that inexpensive tours were often associated with forced shopping, which could tarnish Hong Kong’s image, and undermine the government’s vision to develop the city into a cultural hub.