Following is a question by the Hon Yiu Si-wing and a written reply by the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Edward Yau, in the Legislative Council today (June 19):
Question:
To enhance tourism exchanges and co-operation within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (the Greater Bay Area), the Hong Kong Special Administration Region (HKSAR) Government and the tourism departments of the other 10 cities in the Greater Bay Area established the Tourism Federation of Cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (the Federation) and signed the Agreement on the Tourism Federation of Cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area in December 2017. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the goals, mission and work schedule of the Federation, and the mode of co-operation and division of work among the various member cities;
(2) of the expenditure involved in the work undertaken by the Federation on developing and promoting tourism in the Greater Bay Area since its establishment, and the effectiveness of the work; and
(3) of the future work priorities of the Federation; among them, the specific work for which the HKSAR Government is responsible, and the manpower and financial resources it will allocate for such work?
Reply:
President,
The Tourism Federation of Cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (the Federation) was jointly established by the tourism departments of the Hong Kong and Macao Special Administrative Regions as well as the nine Mainland cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (Greater Bay Area) in December 2017. The Federation's advisory unit and secretariat are the national Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Department of Culture and Tourism of Guangdong Province respectively. The Federation's first Annual Meeting was held in April 2018 in Guangzhou. The Government has all along been actively leveraging the platform of the Federation to deepen co-operation with other cities in the Greater Bay Area in areas of tourism exchange and promotion, as well as strengthening market regulation.
As the Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area announced in February 2019 expressly supports Hong Kong in developing into an international tourism hub, a core demonstration zone for multi-destination tourism, as well as a diverse tourism platform, the Government will actively grasp such opportunities to promote the overall tourism development within the Greater Bay Area for mutual benefits.
As such, the Commissioner for Tourism, as the rotating Chairman of the Federation's second Annual Meeting, convened the second Annual Meeting of the Federation on June 12, 2019 in Hong Kong to discuss with the tourism departments of the Macao Special Administrative Region and the nine Mainland cities in the Greater Bay Area in further enhancing tourism co-operation in various areas, including pursuing more facilitating measures for overseas tourists travelling within the Greater Bay Area, strengthening co-operation in market regulation and publicity and promotion, and supporting the trade in developing more multi-destination tourism products, etc.
The work in relation to the Federation falls under the charge of the Tourism Commission. Relevant staffing and expenses are subsumed within the latter's establishment and provision, and can hardly be separately quantified.
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