164

IMMIGRATION AND TOURISM

booklet which was circulated in Hong Kong with the object of informing the Chinese population of the value of the tourist industry to them and to the economy. The association produced a number of short colour films for use on television in America, the United Kingdom and Europe and also for the Australian market. A telephone information service was introduced to provide visitors with reliable facts. The information service has been expanded at the airport and on board ships, and uniformed receptionists, located at strategic points, give maximum service to visitors. An information office, similar to the one situated on the ferry concourse on Hong Kong Island, was opened on the Kowloon Star Ferry Concourse.

The association engaged in a number of special projects during 1967. In May, promotional lectures were given in Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Hamilton, Winnipeg, Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver and Victoria, Vancouver Island. Representatives of the association also attended conferences of the East Asian Travel Association, the Pacific Area Travel Association, the American Society of Travel Agents, the Commonwealth Conference on Tourist Development, the executive committee meeting and the General Assembly of the International Union of Official Travel Organizations, the Assembly of the World Chamber of Commerce and the Australian Federation of Travel Agents. During the second half of the year, the Associa- tion, in conjunction with Cathay Pacific Airways and leading travel agents, initiated a programme of special presentations, which will be continued in 1968, in 26 cities in the United States and Canada. With a view to improving the image of Hong Kong, the Association, in conjunction with the Trade Development Council, chartered a Hong Kong-built pleasure junk and shipped it to the United States where it made appearances in a number of American and Canadian cities.

The expansion of Tourist Association offices continues and during the year a new office was opened in Sydney next door to the recently completed Wentworth Hotel. The association now has offices in the United Kingdom, America, Canada, Japan and Australia. Additional staff were also engaged in America, Canada and Japan in order to deal with the rapidly increasing volume of enquiries about Hong Kong.

Share This Page