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The Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mrs Rita Lau, and the Chairman of the China National Tourism Administration, Mr Shao Qiwei, co-chaired 2010 Hong Kong and the Mainland Tourism Working Meeting in Hong Kong today (May 10) to discuss various issues on the direction of tourism co-operation and the strategy of joint tourism promotion in the coming year.
The meeting was attended by the delegation of China National Tourism Administration and representatives from the Hong Kong Tourism Commission, Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) and Hong Kong tourism industry.
The meeting reviewed tourism performance of both the Mainland and Hong Kong markets in 2009 and discussed the outlook for the second half of the 2010. The two sides also exchanged views on joint efforts to promote overseas the multi-destination itineraries, promotion of honest and quality tourism, as well as tourism facilitation measures under the next round of CEPA.
Mrs Lau pointed out that visitor arrivals to Hong Kong during the first quarter of 2010 increased by 16.5% to 8.62 million compared with the same period last year. Visitor arrivals from the Mainland surpassed 5.55 million, representing a rise of 18.7%. Total visitor arrivals are expected to exceed 30 million in 2010.
"We will tap on the opportunity of Shanghai Expo to step up the promotion efforts by Hong Kong Tourism Board overseas, in particular the promotion of multi-destination itineraries comprising Hong Kong and the Mainland. To promote Hong Kong tourism in Shanghai, HKTB will also stage a month-long campaign themed ¡°Connect to Hong Kong: Destination City¡± in Shanghai in June," she said.
On the development of tourism infrastructure in Hong Kong, Mrs Lau said, ¡°We are developing the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal in full steam. The cruise terminal, expected to come into operation in mid 2013, will be capable of accommodating the world¡¯s largest cruise vessels. The cruise operators have been responding very positively on the measure announced by the Central Government in April 2009 to allow Mainland tour groups to travel to Taiwan by taking cruise vessels homeporting in Hong Kong. We will continue to encourage the industry to partner with Mainland counterparts to develop cruise tourism products of Hong Kong¡ªTaiwan multi-destination itineraries.¡±
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Mr Shao expressed support to Hong Kong/Guangdong co-operation in tourism development, the joint development of cruise tourism by the Mainland and Hong Kong, the development of multi-destination itineraries, and the greater use of information technology to enhance the quality of tourism services.
During their stay in Hong Kong from May 9 to 11, Mr Shao and his delegation will pay a courtesy call to the Chief Executive, meeting with representatives of the Hong Kong Tourism Board and Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong, and visit various tourist spots in Hong Kong.
Ends/Monday, May 10, 2010
Issued at HKT 21:25
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