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INDUSTRY AND TRADE
The Hong Kong Tourist Association, which started to operate in 1958, broaches the Colony's attractions abroad by means of films, brochures and posters, and also issues an official guide book and a monthly news bulletin for distribution both locally and abroad. The Association works through a Board of Manage- ment, which is appointed by the Governor and consists of nine members who represent various branches of the tourist industry and Government. The Government subvention for the current financial year is $1,400,000, an increase of $400,000. The Associa- tion has enrolled some 240 members and associate members to co-ordinate the activities of the tourist industry and protect the interests of tourists. They include airlines, shipping companies, travel and tourist agencies, hotels, shops and restaurants, and each is bound by the Association's rules. The training and registra- tion of guides is also being undertaken.
The Association has information offices on the Star Ferry con- course in Hong Kong and in the Peninsula Hotel arcade, Kowloon. It co-operates closely with international organizations for the pro- motion of tourism and is a member of the International Union of Official Travel Organizations, the Pacific Area Travel Association, the British Travel and Holidays Association, and the American Society of Travel Agents. During the year the Executive Director attended the Pacific Area Travel Association conference in New Zealand and the American Society of Travel Agents' conference in the United States, visited Australia and Thailand, and made a world tour.
First class hotel accommodation has been unable to keep pace with the annual increase in the number of tourists and although several new hotels are being built, and others are planned, it will be some time before this deficiency is overcome. At present 3,393 hotel rooms are available for tourists.