42nd HKTA ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING REFLECTS MAJOR TURNING POINT FOR ASSOCIATION, TOURISM INDUSTRY

The Hong Kong Tourist Association (HKTA) today (24 October) held its 42nd Annual General Meeting at the Holiday Inn Golden Mile Hotel, in Tsim Sha Tsui.

Presiding over the Meeting was Chairman of the Association, The Hon Mrs Selina Chow, JP. Joining her were Secretary for Economic Services, Ms Sandra Lee; the HKTA’s acting Executive Director, Finance & Administration Director, Mrs Grace Lee, and members of the Board of Management.

In presenting the HKTA’s 1999/2000 Annual Report, Mrs Chow said that since early 1999, Destination Hong Kong reached a turning point and has not looked back. Visitor arrivals are running at near record levels and stand to reach 12.5 million in 2000, up from the 11.3 million of 1999.

Mrs Chow said that Hong Kong is still considered one of the world’s greatest cities. It was voted the most popular single destination in Asia by United States Travel & Leisure magazine and National Geographic Traveler named the City of Life one of the 50 Destinations of a Lifetime. Hong Kong made the list of the sexiest cities in the world, as well as the industry league table for high service standards.

“Together with this good news, however, are some warning signs: per capita spending is down from HK$7,000 of 1996 to HK$4,700 of first half of this year and the average length of stay has fallen from 3.7 nights to 3.01 nights,” she added.

Having brought back the numbers, the HKTA’s mission now was to bring about an increase in visitor spending by aggressively pursuing the high-yield segments of individual markets, as well as convincing visitors to stay longer.

These and other challenges are being given immediate and careful attention, she said. “As the economic downturn of the past two years recedes into the background, there is growing competition in the region. Singapore and Thailand have been particularly aggressive in their international marketing efforts. China is waking up to the fact that their wealth of breathtaking attractions can lead them to the gold mine that the key of tourism marketing can open. These competitors have much to offer, and at much lower prices than we can,” said Mrs Chow.

It was therefore of great importance that the HKTA be more creative, innovative, cost-effective and focused. In the Annual Report, Mrs Chow notes that in order to maintain our position, the industry must always look — and move — forward if Hong Kong is to satisfy market demand and stay ahead of its competition. The word “quality” has to be directly and automatically associated with Hong Kong.

The HKTA operates in an industry that is constantly evolving. Mrs Chow said the HKTA Board is confident that Hong Kong as a destination can more than match market demands and stay ahead of its competition through innovative strategies and new products. But everyone must have absolute clarity about their roles.

Following Government’s creation of the Tourism Commission in April 1999, the HKTA and the Commission set about developing a clear vision and strategy for the future. Hong Kong Tourism - Expanding the Horizons, the jointly formulated policy document published in June 2000, was the result.

Now that the government machinery is in place, the HKTA is in a better position to focus more intensely on its primary functions, marketing and promoting Hong Kong internationally.

“The HKTA is the umbrella marketeer for Hong Kong tourism. We also have the duty to feed market intelligence back to our partners in the trade, the Government and the community,” said Mrs Chow.

“We therefore initiated the International Market Research Study in 1999 and followed up with a further study in 2000, so as to help fine-tune our marketing strategies, brand development, consumer targeting and understanding of motivational factors. We intend to continue with IMRS in selected markets next year.”

The Chairman said that plans were under way to rename the HKTA as the Hong Kong Tourism Board. If the Bill to be introduced by the Administration in December wins the support of the Legislature, the HKTA would be reconstituted as the Hong Kong Tourism Board by April next year, with an enlarged Board of 20 instead of the present 11.

“We also hope to abolish the membership system, so that our clear mission to act for our entire tourism industry will not be muddled by the misunderstanding that we only act for members,” she added.