Mixed reactions to increase in duty-free allowance

There have been mixed reactions to an increase in the duty-free shopping allowance for mainland tourists returning from Hong Kong and Macau, with some welcoming the move and others saying it doesn't go far enough. On Friday, Beijing announced that it will increase the allowance from 5,000 to 12,000 yuan per person at several border crossings from July 1, and at all checkpoints from August 1. In Tsim Sha Tsui, a mainland tourist said he hopes to see the allowance increased further because he normally spends around 100,000 yuan in Hong Kong. "I hope it can be raised to 30,000 to 50,000 yuan, because women’s bags usually cost around that. Also, large jewellery and cosmetics items almost always cost more than ten thousand dollars," he told RTHK. In Central, a visitor from Shenzhen said he will spend more in the SAR after the measure takes effect. "I think the original limit of 5,000 yuan is not enough because many electronic products cost more than 5,000 yuan... This adjustment will greatly stimulate mainland consumers' purchasing power," he said. But a Shanghai tourist said the increase won't make a difference to him, because he's only in Hong Kong to watch a concert. "It doesn't really affect me because I don't buy much in Hong Kong. And now prices in Hong Kong are probably similar to the mainland," he said. Meanwhile, the Retail Management Association said the measure is an important step forward and it hopes the SAR government will continue to pay attention to the needs and development of the industry.