The Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) pledged it would make good use of the additional tourism funding proposed by the Financial Secretary. Out of the HK$500 million additional funding, HK$470 million will be used by the HKTB to implement the 2006 Discover Hong Kong Year campaign; further develop the family and business traveller segments, including young executives; and strengthen the promotion of the Quality Tourism Services (QTS) scheme.

HKTB Chairman The Hon Mrs Selina Chow, GBS, OBE, JP said that the Board forecast that the Discover Hong Kong Year campaign would bring total arrivals in 2006 to a new record. “We expect that total visitor arrivals will reach 27.14 million,” she said. “At the same time, the total tourism expenditure will exceed the HK$100 billion mark to reach HK$114.7 billion. ”
“We will promote Hong Kong aggressively in the next two years, attract more arrivals and extend visitors’ length of stay. Our new Discover Hong Kong Year campaign is expected to bring 1.2 million visitors and 2 million visitor nights additional to the HKTB’s original growth forecast,” she remarked. “It will also help generate an additional HK$10 billion tourism spending, meaning that for every dollar of the Government’s investment, the HKTB will achieve 20 in return.”

“We expect that our promotional activities for the Discover Hong Kong Year, which will start from the second half of 2005 onwards, will also have a positive impact on 2005 arrivals,” Mrs Chow added. “We have therefore revised our previously announced 2005 target from 22.9 to 23.41 million and the total tourism expenditure to HK$97.8 billion.”

The HKTB has decided to stage this new international marketing campaign in 2006 because it represents a critical milestone in the history of Hong Kong’s tourism. With several new infrastructure projects, including Hong Kong Disneyland, Hong Kong Wetland Park and Tung Chung Cable Car coming on stream, 2006 presents a golden opportunity for Hong Kong to take centre stage in the international publicity arena. The HKTB will package these new attractions with Hong Kong’s existing unique products to present an array of diverse, multi-dimensional offerings that satisfy visitors from different markets and segments.

The Discover Hong Kong Year campaign capitalises on the strong interest in Asia and China in the global tourism market. In organising Discover Hong Kong Year, the HKTB’s major short-term objective is to drive incremental visitor arrivals and spending, making Hong Kong the hottest, “must-visit” destination on any Asia and China itinerary. As for the long term, the Board wants to reinforce Hong Kong’s leading position in the international travel market, making it a timeless, continuously rejuvenating destination.

2006 Discover Hong Kong Year

HKTB Executive Director Clara Chong said that the Board’s promotions in the coming two years would take the tourism industry’s performance in 2006 to new heights. “We expect that visitors arrivals and spending will increase by 16% and 17% respectively, creating more employment opportunities and an even greater economic contribution to Hong Kong.”

The new attractions will provide the travel trade with fresh impetus to package new and creative itineraries. One example is packaging the Wetland Park with other green tourism assets, such as the 70 walking trails, more than 260 islands and Hong Kong’s unique “pink” dolphins. Another is to market the new Tung Chung Cable Car and Heart Sutra with existing Lantau attractions, such as the Giant Buddha and Po Lin Monastery, to showcase the city’s 6,000 years of culture and heritage.

In the past two years, the HKTB has organised very successful Mega Events to reinforce Hong Kong’s core strengths. Surveys by the HKTB show that 89% of visitors who participated in these events have a high tendency to return for similar events, and 92% will recommend Hong Kong to friends and relatives. Making use of the additional funding, the Board will inject new elements into these signature events, and organise two more Mega Events themed around culture and heritage in 2006 to further enhance the visitor experience.

Develop High-Yield Segments

In planning its strategic global promotions, the HKTB has identified the high-yield and high-growth family and business travellers, including young executives, as its key target segments.

Surveys by the HKTB show that 36% of overnight vacation visitors have young children, but that only 24% bring them along when visiting Hong Kong. These results indicate that the family segment has tremendous growth potential. To maximise this opportunity, the HKTB will target its Mega Event promotions at the family segment. It will also work closely with the travel trade to develop family-friendly itineraries and value-added offers. The opening of Disneyland will offer new opportunities to package creatively family-oriented attractions, such as Ocean Park, the Peak Tram and museums, to entice family groups.

As for the business travel segment, about 3.41 million business travellers come to Hong Kong every year. Taking into account the needs of these visitors, the HKTB will provide them with comprehensive and suitable travel information. By encouraging them to participate in more leisure activities and bring their families, the Board aims to extend their stay and spending.

Currently, about one-third of business travellers come to Hong Kong for conventions, exhibitions, incentives and meetings. The city’s attractive new venues offer great opportunity to develop this segment further. Twenty new exhibitions have already been confirmed for AsiaWorld-Expo, due to open at the end of this year. The opening of Hong Kong Disneyland will further provide enticing new themed venues for incentives and corporate events. Leveraging on these developments, the HKTB will work closely with organisers of meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions so as to bring more business events and travellers to Hong Kong.

Research has shown that both long-haul and business visitors have a strong interest in traditional festivities. The HKTB will tailor its Mega Event promotions for these visitors. The two new Mega Events themed around Hong Kong’s unique culture and heritage in 2006 should add further appeal in long-haul markets and Japan, the major sources of business travellers.

Quality Tourism Services Scheme

The HKTB will further strengthen its promotion of the QTS scheme. This year, the Board aims to increase the number of accredited merchant outlets by 20% to 6,000. It will also examine the feasibility of extending the scheme to other tourism-related sectors.

Promotions and Publicity

The Hong Kong – Live it, Love it! advertising campaign has already created a successful marketing platform for Hong Kong. The HKTB will build the Discover Hong Kong Year campaign around the Hong Kong – Live it, Love it! theme. Together with a series of new products, offers and tactical promotions, this short-term campaign will instil a sense of urgency to travel to Hong Kong in 2006.

As a start, the HKTB will promote the campaign to the international travel trade and convince them that there is no better time to visit Hong Kong than 2006, to drive them to package and promote creative itineraries. Leading the promotional activities is a three-day trade familiarisation visit in May 2005. This major initiative will offer an excellent opportunity to introduce the Discover Hong Kong Year campaign and Hong Kong’s latest attractions – and especially its green products – to leaders of media and trade organisations from around the world. It will also provide a fresh impetus for the travel trade to package new and more creative itineraries.

On the consumer promotional front, the HKTB will aggressively pursue the campaign globally. Through advertising, roadshows, direct mail and promotions with the travel trade, the Board will bring Discover Hong Kong Year to every corner of the world.

In terms of public relations activities, the HKTB is planning to invite more than 1,500 media representatives from major markets to visit Hong Kong and produce special features and TV broadcasts on Discover Hong Kong Year. Co-operative programmes with local media to solicit the community’s support for the campaign are also at the planning stage.

Another major objective of staging the Discover Hong Kong Year campaign is to create a business platform for tourism-related sectors. The HKTB will continue to co-operate with shopping and dining merchants to introduce special privileges and offers during Mega Event periods so as to stimulate visitor spending. The Board also plans to collaborate with the Government on programmes to foster Hong Kong’s hospitality culture and will strengthen its meet-and-greet services at entry points.

Ms Chong said that the HK$470 million of additional funding would lead Hong Kong’s tourism to record-breaking performance in 2006. “Our industry is set to embrace a bright future with many exciting new offerings in terms of tourism products and services,” she said. “The Discover Hong Kong Year campaign will ensure that travellers come and discover the uniquely diverse and sophisticated experiences in Hong Kong in 2006.”