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In response to media enquiries on the above subject, a Tourism Commission spokesman said:
¡§The pilot scheme for Mainland-authorised Hong Kong travel enterprises to organise group tours for eligible non-Guangdong residents in Shenzhen to visit Hong Kong is one of the services liberalisation and facilitation measures for early and pilot implementation in Guangdong and is a policy of the Central Government. The China Travel Service (Holdings) Hong Kong Limited (CTSHK Holdings) informed the Tourism Commission that CTSHK Holdings had been authorised by the Mainland authorities to operate this business and it was actively discussing with the relevant Mainland authorities the implementation details.
¡§According to CTSHK Holdings, it plans to organise 'three-day-two-night' tour groups to Hong Kong. The itinerary of these groups will include not only Hong Kong Disneyland but also other tourist attractions.
¡§We believe that the scheme will bring additional Mainland tourists to Hong Kong and contribute to our economy. Depending on the scheme¡¦s implementation, we hope that the Central Government will extend it to other cities in the Guangdong Province.¡¨
Ends/Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Issued at HKT 17:45
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