TRAVEL AND TOURISM
age through a special Visnews television clip which was picked up and screened around the world. A total of 22 overseas teams took part in the 1989 international races, and the 'Row for Charity' races raised a record HK$1,050,000 for the Community Chest of Hong Kong.
The '1989 Hong Kong Food Festival' organised by the HKTA, was held from August 13 to September 13. The festival's highlights included four Special Interest Tours which were especially created: the 'Morning Tea and Tai Chi Tour', the 'Gourmet-Guided Market Visit and Cooking Class Tour', the 'New Territories Culinary Experience Tour' and the 'Country Banquet Tour'. An exhibition entitled 'Rice - More than A Simple Grain' was staged during the Food Festival period in three shopping complexes in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Food Festival culinary awards were presented for the second time and a panel of 11 internationally-renowned authorities on food were flown in especially to judge the practical classes. A public exhibition of Chinese and Western display-class entries was open to the public. In addition, some 30 hotels and 50 independent restaurants organised special culinary-related events during the month, while the celebrations in Lan Kwai Fong in Central were extended to become the 'Fourth Lan Kwai Fong Street Festival', lasting a week.
In October, the first 'Hong Kong Waiters' Race' was organised, with the Hong Kong Hotels Association, to encourage greater camaraderie among the waiting staff of the industry. The event attracted 272 participants from 46 hotels and restaurants, running in six different race categories. A large portion of the participation fee was donated to the Hong Kong Polytechnic to establish a travel scholarship for hospitality management students.
In 1989, a new Special Interest Tour called the 'Housing Tour and Home Visit', was launched for groups of visitors who wish to see more of the lifestyle of Hong Kong's people. The tour included a visit to the Government Home Ownership Scheme's model flats, a slide show about public housing estates in Hong Kong, a visit to 'dry' and 'wet' markets and an estate commercial centre, a visit to a local family and a social service organisation, a dim sum lunch, and a visit to the popular Wong Tai Sin Temple. A new 'Yau Ma Tei Walk' guide was published in 1989.
Another tour introduced in 1989 by the association is the 'Heritage Tour'. This gives visitors the opportunity to visit four traditional, historical monuments in the New Territories.
Other tours run in 1989 were 'The Land Between' tour of the New Territories, the 'Come Horseracing' tour and the 'Sports and Recreation' tour, which enabled visitors to use the facilities of the Clearwater Bay Golf and Country Club, and special Festival tours, such as the Yuen Siu Festival, the Tin Hau Festival and the Cheung Chau Bun Festival.
With the completion of the Convention and Exhibition Centre, the Cultural Centre and many new hotels, Hong Kong is much better equipped to host conferences and exhibitions. The association's Convention and Incentive Travel Bureau stepped up promotion in this area and business has grown from 15 international events in 1976 to 500 in 1989. Incentive travel has also increased from less than 200 groups in 1982 to 480 in 1989. Conferences and incentive travel are high-yield business as these visitors stay twice as long and spend three times as much as the average visitor.
The HKTA continued to emphasise the importance of training in the service industries to maintain Hong Kong's high reputation in this area. Its Industry Training Department continued the Effective Selling Skills certificate programme for staff in the retail trade, as well as courses designed specifically for tour co-ordinators and restaurant service staff
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