The parent company of Hong Thai Travel Services on Friday decided to wind up the travel agency, citing its negative net asset value of over 68 million Chinese yuan reported by the end of June.

Speaking at a Legco meeting today, Sum said the Authority was queried about Hong Thai’s current status and how customers can get compensated for fees they paid to the company.

The Authority said earlier that customers who have bought packages from Hong Thai can apply for a compensation from the Travel Industry Compensation Fund.

The tourism commissioner also said authorities have found no irregularities with the closure, with Hong Thai notifying the Authority no less than 14 days before ceasing operating.

Commenting on the incident, tourism sector lawmaker Perry Yiu Pak-leung said Hong Thai’s closure is a case in point that local travel agencies will not be able to survive relying only on local tours.

With cross-border travel yet to be fully resumed, he called on the government to provide more support to the tourism industry, including a new round of the employment support scheme.

In response, Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Kevin Yeung Yun-hung said the government will spare no effort in assisting the industry, and is currently considering a range of factors to fine-tune the policy for inbound travelers.

He also noted that the government will help travel agencies stay afloat as far as practicable, including providing financial assistance.