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IMMIGRATION AND TOURISM
rate of Hong Kong hotels was 88 per cent. At the end of 1981, the total number of hotel rooms was 16 666. During 1982, it is projected that five new hotels will be opened, providing 1 588 extra hotel rooms. To maintain occupancy rates and to develop business in the off-peak months, the association pursues a highly selective and flexible marketing policy and an active product development programme.
Tourism to China continues to grow, bringing with it a bonus for Hong Kong in the form of an increasing number of business and pleasure travellers who stay here either on their way to or from China. Day tours to China have provided an extra dimension to a holiday in Hong Kong and the HKTA is actively promoting these tours. Close liaison with the Chinese tourism authorities is continuing.
Developing Facilities for Visitors
The objective of the HKTA's Product Development Department is to preserve and improve visitor facilities and to facilitate the development of new projects. These not only increase Hong Kong's attractions as a visitor destination, but also help to boost the length of stay of visitors - a direct means of increasing revenue for the tourism industry.
The department's efforts have been concentrated on encouraging investment and development in hotels, holiday resorts, restaurants and other visitor facilities, and on the promotion and organisation of festivals, special interest tours, cultural and other events suitable for visitors.
In 1981, plans made in 1980 were implemented to upgrade the standard of tourist guiding in Hong Kong. Two refresher training courses were organised to improve the product knowledge and communication skills of tour co-ordinators already working in the industry so as to keep them fully abreast of the latest developments in Hong Kong. Three tour commentaries covering the Tram Tour, the standard Hong Kong Island Tour and the standard Kowloon and New Territories Tour - were revised and updated.
The Fourth International Dragon Boat Races, held off the Wan Chai waterfront, attracted six overseas and 74 local teams. The event was broadcast 'live' by a local television station and was covered by 28 articles in overseas papers and other publications and 96 local press articles. A sum of $520,000 was raised for the Community Chest.
During 1981, other product development activities included the annual lantern carnivals in Victoria Park, Morse Park and Central District, the Seven Sisters Festival in the Queen Elizabeth Stadium, the Yuen Siu Festival, the Bun Festival on Cheung Chau Island, and weekly Chinese cultural shows presented free of charge in the atrium of the Landmark building in Central and the Ocean Terminal-Ocean Centre lobby.
Marketing Hong Kong
The selective marketing programme concentrates on developing high-yield markets such as incentive travel, special interest tour groups and international conferences and business meetings, all of which are becoming an increasingly important element of Hong Kong's visitor intake.
Hong Kong has become the venue for a growing number of international meetings by business groups and professional organisations and in 1981, there were over 300 interna- tional conferences.
Specific marketing projects during the year included moves to diversify established travel patterns from the peak season months to the lower occupancy periods, particularly from the shorter haul markets of Southeast Asia and Australia. In the United States, marketing activities were increased in the southwestern states. A greatly increased public relations