Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism meets with trade on development of Hong Kong tourism industry (with photos)

     The Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, Mr Kevin Yeung, met with representatives from the sectors of tourism, hotel, aviation, catering, retail, etc. today (May 14) to exchange views on how to enhance the speed and quality of the development of Hong Kong's tourism industry and discuss the marketing strategies and tourism promotional directions following the expansion of the Individual Visit Scheme (IVS) to cover eight more cities.

     At the meeting, Mr Yeung conveyed the care of the Director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, Mr Xia Baolong, towards Hong Kong's tourism industry. He also had in-depth discussion with the representatives on issues as to how to encourage the trade to actively understand the changes, respond to the changes and embrace the changes; how to frequently adopt new ideas and methods to overcome the challenges encountered so as to pursue quality development, realising substantial enhancement in the midst of transformation. It was agreed that Hong Kong's rich tourism resources must be fully explored, and at the same time keep enhancing the quality of services; promote further collaboration between the tourism and related sectors in developing new tourism products and promotion as well as improve service quality, with a view to reinforcing and strengthening Hong Kong's position as "the best tourism destination".

     Mr Yeung also expressed his sincere gratitude to the Central Government on the expansion of the IVS to cover eight more cities, as well as the staunch support to Hong Kong. He also discussed with the trade on how to enhance the tourism service and generate more economic benefits following the coverage of the eight cities under the IVS. At the meeting, he expressed his thanks for the trade's efforts over the years and encouraged all sectors to continue to render strategic advice on the further development of Hong Kong's tourism industry.

     Mr Yeung said, "The Government attaches great importance to the development of the tourism industry and its contribution to the economy. Promoting Hong Kong's tourism development requires the contribution and support of all sectors. We will work hand in hand with the trade to enhance the competitiveness of Hong Kong's tourism industry, making the best use of Hong Kong's ample tourism resources and drawing reference from the successful experience of other cities in order to promote innovation and improve policies. In the face of changing visitors' patterns and competition from neighbouring cities, Hong Kong's tourism and related sectors need to be flexible and innovative to uncover more attractions with local characteristics, step up promotion of those attractions to create more diversified, enriching and unique travel experience for visitors so as to pursue the concept of 'Tourism is everywhere in Hong Kong'. We will also actively promote continuous enhancement of the quality of services rendered by the trade, and encourage members of the public to join us in extending warm hospitality to our visitors."

     At the meeting, Mr Yeung also foreshadowed that the Government would shortly announce the list of mega events for the second half of the year. He encouraged the trade to capitalise on the business opportunities brought by the mega events and make timely preparation and deployment.