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Following is the speech by the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Gregory So, at the World Travel Awards Asia & Australasia Gala Ceremony 2015 today (October 29):
Dr Lui (Chairman of K Wah Group, Dr Lui Che-woo), Mr Cooke (President and Founder of World Travel Awards, Mr Graham Cooke), Paddy (Executive Director of K Wah Group, Ms Paddy Lui), distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
Good evening. It gives me great pleasure to join you all for this year's World Travel Awards Asia & Australasia ceremony. I am so excited that Hong Kong is hosting the Awards this year.
I must say, Hong Kong and World Travel Awards share a lot of common values. Most importantly, we both celebrate excellence in the provision of warmest hospitality and highest level of service to visitors. This value is deeply ingrained in our culture, enabling us to receive numerous international recognitions over the years. Hong Kong is one of the most appealing tourism destinations in the world, providing world-class service for both leisure and business visitors.
I want to take this opportunity to thank the practitioners in the tourism-related sectors including hotels, theme parks, tourist attractions, travel agencies, airlines, restaurants and retail outlets. With no doubt, your hard work and passion play an important part in our success. Thank you for giving our visitors a memorable and exhilarating travel experience.
Tourism is one of the key pillars of our economy. I would like to assure our tourism practitioners that the Hong Kong SAR Government will not hesitate to provide support to the tourism industry whenever needed.
The Government has indeed spared no efforts to help foster our tourism sector in a healthy and sustainable manner. We have endeavoured to introduce more new attractions and facilities. We want to enrich our tourism appeal on one hand and enhance our tourist receiving capacity on the other.
Hardware aside, we will also continue to allocate resources to step up our promotional efforts and support the staging of more mega events in Hong Kong. Visitors who were in town a few days ago may have enjoyed themselves at the Wine & Dine Festival and the Hong Kong Golf Open. Next year, please join us at the inaugural Hong Kong ePrix, the first stop of the exciting FIA Formula E Championship.
Ladies and gentlemen, in case you haven't visited Hong Kong for a while, I sincerely encourage you to take some time to explore the new offerings and enjoy the diversity of this city. I also count on you to preach to your fellows in your home town that Hong Kong has everything to suit every taste and interest. Please ask them to take a short flight here to experience it themselves, and I am sure that they will not be disappointed.
Last but not least, I would like to send my heartfelt congratulations to all the award winners. You deserve the applause and recognition this evening for the outstanding achievements that you have made. I also wish everyone a great evening. Thank you.
Ends/Thursday, October 29, 2015
Issued at HKT 21:55
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