Hong Kong travel firm aims to take bite out of bedbug scare with partial refund to first customer who finds live pest on South Korea tours

Tour group operators in Hong Kong are calling for calm following an uptick in bedbug infestations in South Korea, Paris and London, with one promising to partly refund customers’ fees if a live pest is found during their trip.

Wing On Travel Service on Tuesday said the first customer to find a live bedbug in a hotel, coach or restaurant on any trip to South Korea between December 1 and February 29 next year would get a refund of some of their travel fees upon their return to Hong Kong.

A member of staff, such as a tour guide or driver, would have to verify the bug discovery.

Bedbugs are small, parasitic, oval-shaped insects, and their bites can cause rashes. Photo: Reuters

“The measure is to put our customers’ minds at ease, and to show our confidence that all the service providers we work with have been carefully vetted to meet hygiene standards,” a Wing On employee said.

The firm said it was the first travel agency in Hong Kong to offer such a refund. But rivals regarded bedbug infestations as more an issue about confidence.

Steve Huen Kwok-chuen, executive director of rival travel firm EGL, called the Wing On Travel measure “funny”, and said no bedbugs had been discovered on any of his company’s tours so far.

“We believe the bedbug problem has passed, and our sign-up numbers have returned to normal,” he said, adding his teams would continue to closely monitor the hygiene of hotels and buses used.

Yuen Chun-ning, chief executive officer of travel agency WWPKG, told the Post his company was taking extra measures, including disinfecting buses daily, providing staff with sanitising spray and monitoring the cleanliness of hotels.

Bedbugs are small, parasitic, oval-shaped insects, and their bites can cause rashes that last up to two weeks, although allergic reactions may require hospitalisation.

Experts recommend using high or low temperatures to kill them, such as washing infested bedsheets with hot water of at least 60 degrees Celsius.

Travellers are also advised to use hard-shell suitcases to prevent the insects from attaching to luggage and to check beds, pillows, mattresses and upholstered furniture once arriving at their accommodation.

The insect recently appeared on international radars after large-scale outbreaks were observed in Paris, then London and South Korea – a popular travel destination for Hong Kong residents.

According to South Korean authorities, 168,798 Hongkongers travelled to the country in the first six months of this year, accounting for 3.8 per cent of the total over the period.

Experts have linked the bedbug uptick to increased international travel following the Covid-19 pandemic, while local pest control companies have reported a jump in service requests.

Earlier this month, a photo of a suspected bedbug on the Hong Kong Airport Express went viral, which the MTR Corporation followed with carriage disinfections.

Cathay Pacific Airways, Hong Kong Airlines and Korean Air said they had drawn up contingency plans and stepped up cleaning and disinfection on their planes.

Hong Kong authorities also stepped up inspections at the airport and education about bedbugs by distributing leaflets to air travellers.