Tourism
The tourism industry is one of the major pillars of the
economy of Hong Kong. The total tourism expenditure
associated to inbound tourism exceeded HK$110 billion in
2006.
The encouraging growth momentum in visitor arrivals
continued in 2006 with 25.25 million, an increase of 8.1%
compared with the same period in 2005. All market regions
recorded positive growth, with Europe and South and
Southeast Asia registering double-digit increases
compared with 2005. Mainland was still the largest source
market with arrivals breaking another record with more
than 13.59 million, increasing by 8.4% over a year ago.
Several major tourist attractions have been completed
including Hong Kong Disneyland, A Symphony of Lights
Phase II, Hong Kong Wetland Park and Ngong Ping 360.
Together with the worldwide promotional initiatives and
events staged by the Hong Kong Tourism Board, the
outlook of the tourism industry of Hong Kong is expected to
remain positive.
Accommodation and Length of Stay: By the end of 2006,
Hong Kong had 126 hotels, with 47 128 rooms. The
average occupancy rate for 2006 was 87 per cent, an
increase of one percentage point as compared with 2005.
Total room-nights rise too as the total stock of hotel room
supply increased by some 3 200 rooms or 7.4 per cent
during the year. The average length of stay of overnight
visitors in 2005 was 3.7 nights.
Tourism Commission: The Tourism Commission (TC)
was established in May 1999 to coordinate within
government various tourism development efforts and
to provide better policy support and leadership on the part
of government to the development of tourism in Hong
Kong.
The Commission’s task is to establish and promote
Hong Kong as Asia’s premier international city, a
world-class destination for leisure and business visitors.
To fulfill this mission systematically, the Commission
needs to ensure that tourism receives proper recognition
as one of the major sectors of the economy, with the
industry, the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) and the
Government working in harmony, and bringing in the
community at large.
It is essential for the trade and the Government
to work closely together. A Tourism Strategy Group,
comprising representatives from the Government, the
HKTB and various sectors of the tourism industry, has
been established to advise the Government on tourism
development from a strategic perspective.
Tourist Attractions and Facilities: The Government has
plans to develop a wide-range of diversified tourist
attractions in Hong Kong with a view to enhancing our
overall attractiveness as a premier tourist destination.
Enhancement projects are implemented to give a
facelift to the existing popular tourist areas. The completed
projects include enhancement of the Sai Kung waterfront,
minor improvements to Lei Yue Mun, enhancement of the
Central and Western District, and the Avenue of Stars
which is a joint venture with the private sector. The Tsim
Sha Tsui Beautification Project and the installation of
visitor signage in all 18 districts have been largely
completed. We target to complete the enhancement works
for Dr. Sun Yat-sen Historical Trail in early 2007. The new
transport link in Tsim Sha Tsui East, and the beautification
works for Stanley waterfront and the Peak are scheduled
for completion in 2007. Projects being planned include the
Aberdeen Tourism Project to complement the
redevelopment plan of Ocean Park, further enhancement
of the facilities along Lei Yue Mun waterfront and the
development of a piazza at Tsim Sha Tsui.
“A Symphony of Lights”, launched by the Commission
in January 2004, has been very well received by both
visitors and locals. It was awarded the world’s “Largest
Permanent Light and Sound Show” by Guinness World
Records in November 2005, accredited on the basis of the
20 buildings on Hong Kong Island jointly performing in a
fully synchronized light and sound show every night. The
Show was extended to Kowloon side covering a total of 33
buildings on both sides of the Victoria Harbour in
December 2005 and successfully achieved a new world
record.
Hong Kong Disneyland is an important part of our
tourism infrastructure. Together with other tourism
attractions in Hong Kong, it helps promote Hong Kong as
the premier destination for family tourists in the region. The
park received over five million visitors during its first year of
operation. Two other major projects, namely the Hong
Kong Wetland Park and Ngong Ping 360 were opened in
2006. Hong Kong Wetland Park is a world-class
conservation, education and tourism facility. Ngong Ping
360, comprises a 20-minute cable car ride offering a
spectacular panoramic view of the beautiful landscape of
Lantau Island, and a traditional Chinese and Buddhist
themed village, also provides a convenient access
for visitors to explore other intriguing parts of Lantau.
The heritage tourism development at the former Marine
Police Headquarters Compound is expected to be
completed by 2008. The Government is collecting views
from the public on the way forward for the preservation,
restoration and development of the Central Police Station,
Victoria Prison and the former Central Magistracy
Compound.
The Government has announced its plan for
developing new cruise terminal facilities at Kai Tak in
October 2006. The Government will offer the 7.6 hectares
of land at the southern end of the former runway at the Kai
Tak Development to the market through an open land
tender. The Government intends to award the tender in the
second quarter of 2008. The successful bidder will need to
form the site as well as design, build, and operate the
cruise terminal at its own cost. It is expected that the first
berth at the Kai Tak Development will be completed in
2012. The Government is also working with the Ocean
Park to implement its redevelopment plans which aim to
turn the Ocean Park into a world-class marine-themed
attraction. Works of the redevelopment will be delivered in
phases, new products will be introduced in each phase
with the first product being made available by early 2007
and other rides/attractions in phases by 2012/13. The
Government is considering the proposal on the
development of hotels at the Ocean Park from legal,
financial, operational and institutional aspects. The hotel
development will further enhance the attractiveness of the
Park and induce longer stay.
The promotion of tourism is not simply about
construction of new facilities. The Government has not lost
sight of the fact that Hong Kong’s traditional relics and
assets, some of which date back six thousand years, offer
visitors a fascinating insight into the region’s history. To
better explore heritage tourism, the HKTB has enhanced
its Cultural Kaleidoscope cultural experience programme
with guided tours of Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong
Kong Maritime Museum, Chinese cake-making and
Chinese medicine classes. It published “Discover Hong
Kong by Rail” to promote the attractions, including heritage
sites along the KCR East and West Rails. In addition, the
HKTB continues to work with trade operators to promote
traditional Chinese customs and festivals such as the
Tin Hau Festival parade in Yuen Long, Tam Kung Festival
in Shaukeiwan, the Cheung Chau Bun Festival and
the Birthday of Lord Buddha celebrations at Po Lin
Monastery.
The ecological richness and diversity of Hong Kong
is also quite unexpected and is another aspect which has
not hitherto been fully recognised. The Commission is
promoting green tourism in the Northeast New Territories
under the principles of nature conservation and sustainable
development. The project in the Plover Cove and Tolo
Channel area and Tung Ping Chau includes minor
enhancement of basic facilities, promotion of an
island-hopping sea tour, and complementary conservation
and educational initiatives. The HKTB has produced a
publication to promote green tourism and it features seven
hiking tours, as well as a guidebook on bird watching hot
spots in Hong Kong in collaboration with Hong Kong Bird
Watching Society. The HKTB has also revamped the green
tourism section of its website to make it more
comprehensive and user friendly. With the opening of
Hong Kong Wetland Park and development of green
tourism in Northern New Territories, the HKTB has also
launched the Nature Kaleidoscope programme in
September 2006 for a 6-month period as pilot scheme for
the participation of overseas visitors. The programme
includes guided visit to Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden
and Hong Kong Wetland Park; morning bird watching
activities at Hong Kong Park and Kowloon Park; Eco-tour
at Tai O on Lantau Island; Islands hopping tour in
Northeast New Territories and guided walk at Wong Nai
Chung Gap Trail.
Standards and Performance: Apart from making
available a wide range of attractions to enrich the
experience of tourists, it is equally important to enhance
the standard of service offered. The Travel Agents
Ordinance puts in place a licensing scheme to regulate
travel agents which carry on the business of providing
inbound and outbound travel services. Parallel with this,
to ensure the quality service provided to the visitors, the
training programme for serving tourist guides with subsidy
from the Government has provided training to about 9 100
tourist guides since its commencement in July 2002. Any
serving tourist guide who has completed the prescribed
training course and passed the required examination will
be issued with a “Tourist Guide Pass”. They are required to
observe the “Code of Conduct for Tourist Guides” issued
by the Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong. With effect
from July 1, 2004, all travel agents are required to assign
only those tourist guides with a valid “Tourist Guide Pass”
to receive visitors to Hong Kong. As part of the efforts to
help members of the travel agents trade to seek
continuous improvement in the area of professional
knowledge and skills and the quality of their service, the
Government had subsidized the launching of a series of
new specialized courses commencing in mid-2006 for
members of the travel agents trade. By end November
2006, some 390 members of the travel agents trade have
enrolled in the new courses.
The HKTB continues to implement the Quality Tourism
Services (QTS) Scheme, which aims to enhance the
overall service standards among retailers and restaurants.
The Scheme was strengthened in 2006 to include visitor
accommodation in the scheme, aiming to provide visitors
with better quality assurance and a more comprehensive
and effective complaint handling mechanism. By the end of
2006, over 6 300 outlets had received QTS accreditation,
an increase of nearly 6 per cent in 12 months, reflecting
growing trade and visitor recognition of the scheme’s
value. The China National Tourism Administration has also
expressed its support for QTS.
The promotion of a community-wide hospitality culture
is essential to the sustainable development of the tourism
industry. The Tourism Commission will continue to run the
territory-wide public education campaign entitled “A
Hospitable Hong Kong” to promote a hospitality culture.
This campaign comprises a series of programmes and
activities, including the Hong Kong Young Ambassador
Scheme, general publicity scheme, service quality
seminars and campaigns. The Service Quality Study,
which was completed in 2005, aims to work out with
the tourism and related industries and relevant
government departments service standards for each
sector. It will also exemplify the best practice and service
excellence attained and help promote service quality
generally.
Accessing Hong Kong: The Government continues to
ensure Hong Kong’s accessibility. Nationals from some
170 countries can visit Hong Kong visa free for period from
seven to 180 days.
As for Mainland visitors, the quota of the Hong Kong
Tour Group Scheme of Mainland visitors has been
abolished since January 2002. The number of Mainland
travel agents authorised to organise such tours has also
increased significantly. The Individual Visit Scheme was
introduced on July 28, 2003. The Scheme has been
gradually extended and now covers Guangdong province,
Shanghai, Beijing, Chongqing, Tianjian, Chengdu, Dalian,
Shenyang, Jinan, Nanchang, Changsha, Nanning, Haikou,
Guiyang, Kunming and nine cities in Fujian, Jiangsu and
Zhejiang. Near 17.2 million individual visitors have visited
Hong Kong as at December 2006.
Promoting Hong Kong: The HKTB is a statutory body set
up to promote Hong Kong globally as a business and
leisure destination and take initiatives to enhance the
experience of visitors when they arrive. In 2006, the HKTB
continues to place special emphasis on attracting more
visitors in the high-yield business-cum-leisure and family
segments.
Leveraging on the opening of several new attractions
from 2005 onwards, the HKTB has designated 2006
as Discover Hong Kong Year. This global marketing
campaign makes use of a series of strategic promotions
and popular Mega Events to showcase the new image of
Hong Kong and promote it as a “must-visit” destination in
2006. The HKTB has already started promotions to the
travel trade in May 2005 and rolled out the campaign in
various long-haul markets by the end of 2005 and from the
beginning of 2006 in short haul markets.
Alongside promoting Hong Kong as a preferred
tourist destination in Asia, the HKTB places emphasis
on developing joint marketing efforts with strategic
partners to promote multi-destination tourism and develop
new markets. Building on the Pan-Pearl River Delta
co-operation agreement, a series of joint overseas
marketing initiatives is being conducted with Macau and
the nine provincial tourism bureaux concerned. The
Government supports the HKTB and the tourism industry
to further these efforts.
In the years ahead, the Government will continue to
work closely with the HKTB and the trade to maintain Hong
Kong’s status as Asia’s world city.
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