Tourism industry set for dramatic growth

Hong Kong must continue to elevate its international and cosmopolitan outlook, the Financial Secretary, Mr Henry Tang, said today (March 18).

"While we look north [the Mainland] for growth, we must not neglect our long-haul markets," he told delegates to the '3rd Hong Kong Tourism Symposium: Quality and Diversity'.

"We must continue to maintain a balanced market structure and the international profile of our visitors."

Mr Tang said that following the intensive publicity under the Re-launch Hong Kong campaign last year, Hong Kong had seen a steady recovery in arrivals from markets in Europe and Africa.

However, there was still concern over the slow recovery in the US and Japan and the Tourism Board would continue to sustain promotion and marketing efforts in these markets to increase the number of arrivals and encourage longer stays.

At the same time, Mr Tang said, it was important for Hong Kong's tourism industry to assess the growing Mainland market to ensure it was ready to cater for the needs of these visitors in the years ahead.

He said visitors from the Mainland now made up more than half the total number of arrivals.

Figures show there has been a remarkable increase in the number of Mainland visitors in the past two years, from 4.4 million in 2001 to 8.46 million in 2003. The Tourism Board is forecasting this will rise to 11.2 million this year.

The launch of the individual visit scheme last year brought in more than 1.3 million new visitors.

"Some 1.7 million people have received individual visit endorsements, and many more are applying for them every day. With the further extension of the scheme to all Guangdong cities by May this year and possibly other provinces, the Mainland is destined to be a key source market for our tourism industry," said Mr Tang.

He said the tourism industry had long been an important driver of Hong Kong's economy. Last year, despite the impact of SARS, there were more than 15 million visitors, the second highest on record. This year, the Tourism Board is forecasting more than 20 million visitors, an increase of 30%.

In 2003, the estimated expenditure related to inbound tourism topped $70 billion, and more than 120,000 jobs were associated directly with the tourism industry.

Speaking at the same forum, the Secretary for Economic Development and Labour, Mr Stephen Ip, said that to prepare for the new influx of Mainland visitors, Hong Kong needed to improve its infrastructure, beef up staffing resources and simplify procedures at the boundary crossings, as well as making sure there were adequate tourism facilities such as hotel accommodation.

"We also need to provide quality tourism service and develop more tourism products to meet the demands of tourists and maximize the potential of this growing market," Mr Ip said.

He said the government would continue to work together with the industry to offer the best of Hong Kong to visitors.

Ends/Thursday, March 18, 2004