Hong Kong Tourism Board welcomes lifting of WHO travel warning

The Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) said it warmly welcomes the heartening news of the lifting of the travel advisory against Hong Kong announced today by the World Health Organisation (WHO). The HKTB also said that it hopes Hong Kong can be removed from the list of affected areas as soon as possible.

HKTB Chairman The Hon Mrs Selina Chow, GBS, OBE, JP, urged everyone in the Hong Kong community to spread the good news to their friends, families and business contacts overseas.

"The HKTB will work very closely with its worldwide offices and local and overseas trade partners to showcase to visitors once more the appeal and strengths of Hong Kong," she explained. "In addition to encouraging travel by providing special offers to visitors, we will work with the overseas media to spread the message as quickly as possible. The concurrent lifting of the travel advisory against Guangdong will also help pave the way for HKTB's comeback campaign and related promotions."

Mrs Chow added that the HKTB had already drawn up an outline for the comeback campaign and extensively consulted its trade partners. The Board will continue working with the Government to discuss and finalise the details.

"The HKTB hopes that life will soon get back to normal for Hong Kong residents now that the travel advisory has been lifted, as this is a prerequisite for rebuilding visitors' confidence in Hong Kong. Further details of the comeback campaign and its implementation schedule will be announced in due course, as the Board is now closely monitoring response and travel trends in each market."