TRAVEL AND TOURISM
per cent respectively in 1990, as well as South-east Asia (14.4 per cent), Australia and New Zealand (5.1 per cent) and South Korea (3.1 per cent). Visitors from the USA/Canada and Western Europe accounted for 12.9 per cent and 12.4 per cent respectively in 1990.
Hong Kong Tourist Association
Promotion of Hong Kong's tourism industry is the responsibility of the Hong Kong Tourist Association (HKTA) which was first established in 1957. It works to further the development of Hong Kong as a travel destination, promotes the improvement of facilities for visitors, markets the territory's visitor attractions overseas and advises the government on matters relating to tourism.
The chairman and members of the Board of Management of the HKTA are appointed by the Governor. The association receives an annual subvention from the government to assist it in furthering its objectives. It also derives funds from membership dues, the sale of publications and souvenirs, and from its own commercial tours.
In December 1990, the association had 1 861 members, comprising airlines, hotels, travel agents, tour operators, and retail, restaurant and other visitor service establishments.
The HKTA's head office is on the 35th floor of Jardine House in Central District on Hong Kong Island. The association maintains two Information and Gift Centres: at Shop 8, Basement, Jardine House; and at the Kowloon Star Ferry concourse. In addition, the HKTA operates an information counter at the Hong Kong International Airport at Kai Tak. Together, these centres assisted 1.69 million visitors in 1990.
The HKTA also operates telephone hotline services for visitors in Hong Kong. A multi-lingual hotline is operated in conjunction with Mandarin and Japanese ones, and there is a special shopping hotline. Together, these lines handled enquiries from 52 513 visitors during the year. The information service of the HKTA is offered in nine languages, including Korean. In 1990, the association distributed some 8.7 million pieces of literature in eight languages to visitors on arrival.
—
The marketing strategies of the association are designed to attract higher-yield visitors to Hong Kong and to encourage them to stay longer in the territory; the Hong Kong – Stay an Extra Day campaign, which was created and implemented in 1989 and is instrumental in broadening visitors' awareness of Hong Kong's varied attractions, continued throughout 1990. The association also worked closely with the Hong Kong Hotels Association and organised joint overseas advertising campaigns.
Overseas marketing of Hong Kong as a travel destination is carried out primarily through 16 overseas offices, located in Auckland, Barcelona, Chicago, Frankfurt, London, Los Angeles, Milan, New York, Osaka, Paris, Rome, San Francisco, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo and Toronto. The association also has an agreement with Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific Airways whereby the airline acts as its information agent in an additional 42 cities around the world.
In 1990, the HKTA arranged familiarisation visits for 3 549 travel agents and briefed a further 882 visiting travel trade personnel with the aim of encouraging them either to include Hong Kong in their itineraries or to create longer-stay packages. The associa- tion also organised and co-ordinated the Hong Kong tourism industry's participation in 16 major overseas trade promotions, such as the World Travel Market in London in November. In addition, it assisted 1 100 overseas media representatives with their coverage of Hong Kong.
289