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The following is a speech by the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Donald Tsang, at the "Hong Kong - Live it. Love it!" Global Advertising Campaign Hong Kong Premiere, organised by the Hong Kong Tourism Board at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre this (September 15) evening (English portion):
Mrs Chow, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
It's a real pleasure to be here today to take part in the global advertising launch of the 'Hong Kong - Live it. Love it!' campaign.
The whole of Hong Kong has been heartened by the strong revival in the tourism sector over the past two months. It is delightful to see so many tourists walking through the streets of Hong Kong clasping their guide maps or looking for bargains in the markets. Today, we launch a campaign to build on this revival.
The concerted and united efforts of everyone in Hong Kong has brought about our swift and strong recovery can be put down to. The international business community, retailers, restaurant owners, residents - each one of us has been doing our part. We spread the word that Hong Kong is a safe place to visit. We welcome people back to our great city. We provide incentives to spend money here. Most of all we make Hong Kong a cleaner, more hygienic city. It has been a splendid team effort.
The tourism industry is an important economic driver in Hong Kong. We must strive to grow and strengthen it. We offer our visitors great service, great food and great shopping. We have world-class hotels, stunning skylines and beautiful countryside. And, as Asia's world city, we offer our guests an East-West experience unmatched anywhere else.
The government and many other sectors in Hong Kong have been working very hard to relaunch our economy in the wake of the SARS outbreak. The roll out of this global advertising campaign is part of that hard work. Later this week I'll be launching the campaign along with Mrs Chow in New York and San Francisco. As the campaign is rolled out around the world I'm sure we will see further growth in arrivals for both the leisure and business travellers.
Let us all wish the Tourism Board for a very successful 'Hong Kong -Live it. Love it!' campaign.
Thank you very much.
(Please also refers to the Chinese portion.)
End/Monday, September 15, 2003
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