Hong Kong Tourism Board voted Best International Tourist Office in Australia

The Australian office of the Hong Kong Tourism Board has earned the laurel of the Best Tourist Office – International, in the National Travel Industry Awards organised by the Australian Federation of Travel Agents (AFTA).

 “Australia’s middle-aged travellers, who have strong interest in sightseeing and shopping in Hong Kong, have always been HKTB’s major target segment,” said Mr James Tien, Chairman of the HKTB. “In recent years, we’ve strived to expand our market portfolio by extending our promotions to the family and young professional segments. Through collaboration with the Australian travel industry, we introduced innovative tourism products and itineraries to appeal to these segments to visit Hong Kong and experience the city’s living culture.”

“Capitalising on Hong Kong’s advantage as the region’s air hub, we’ll continue to work closely with the country’s industry partners,” he added. “In particular, we’ll step up promotions for multi-destination travel, making Hong Kong the top-of-mind travel destination among Australians.”

Hong Kong visitor arrivals from Australia have been on the rise in recent years. In 2007, arrivals from Australia totalled 633,599, an increase of 12.4% over 2006. Apart from the increase in overall arrivals, there was major growth in the number of family and young professional travellers. In 2008, the cumulative arrivals from Australia in the first five months of 2008 reached 273,012, a year-on-year increase of 12.6%.

The National Travel Industry Awards are organised by the Australian travel trade group AFTA. The five finalists in each of the 35 categories were selected by ballot among more than 700 senior practitioners in Australia, and the winner was decided by a judging panel. Founded in 1957, AFTA is the representative trade group acting on behalf of 80% of Australia’s major travel agents. Its membership includes over 2,800 tour operators, hotels and airlines throughout the country.

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