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TRAVEL AND TOURISM
Familiarisation visits to Hong Kong were arranged for 3 139 travel agents. A further 402 visiting travel trade personnel were briefed to encourage them to include the territory in their clients' travel itineraries or to extend the Hong Kong portion of their current Far East tour packages. Some 20 Eastern European travel agents were also invited to the territory to familiarise themselves with Hong Kong's latest tourism developments.
The association also worked with the some 150 Hong Kong-based foreign correspondents and news organisations, and assisted 1 800 visiting overseas media representatives with their coverage of Hong Kong. Some 60 food writers and members of television crews were brought in to cover the 1994 Hong Kong Food Festival, resulting in extensive overseas publicity for local culinary attractions.
In its marketing of Hong Kong as a tourist destination, the HKTA organises a series of events to promote the territory as a year-round travel destination - highlighting its special blend of East and West, and extensive range of top-quality attractions. The Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival International Races, organised for the 19th consecutive year in early July, were a major attraction and again received widespread international publicity. A total of 27 overseas and 126 local crews competed in the race programme, and a series of charity races raised $852,000 for the Community Chest.
The HKTA also carried out overseas promotions for other special events such as the Hong Kong Arts Festival, the Cathay Pacific/Hongkong Bank Invitation Seven-A-Side Rugby Tournament and the Cathay Pacific/Wharf Holdings International Cricket Sixes, high- lighting the territory's role as the events capital of Asia.
In addition, the association operated a number of special interest tours for visitors, including The Land Between Tour, the Come Horseracing Tour, the Family Insight Tour, the Sports and Recreation Tour and the Heritage Tour. Special culinary tours were operated during the 1994 food festival. To continue the association's efforts to promote major Chinese festivals, tours were also organised for visitors to attend the annual Bun Festival on Cheung Chau Island and the Tin Hau Festival celebrations in Yuen Long.
To take advantage of changing market forces and bearing in mind infrastructural factors, the HKTA continuously adapts its marketing strategies. In 1994, the successful 'Stay an Extra Day' marketing theme was replaced with the message that Hong Kong is a quality 'year-round' destination.
The association's efforts in promoting the territory as a venue for international conventions and corporate events is reflected by the number of international conferences and exhibitions confirmed for Hong Kong in the next few years. These include the prestigious annual meetings of the Boards of Governors of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund in September 1997 (with 10 000 delegates expected); the ninth Assembly of the Lutheran World Federation (1 200 delegates) and the Asia Pacific Life Insurance Congress (10 000 delegates), in July and August 1997, respectively; and the Asian Pacific Foreign Exchange Assembly (1 500 delegates) in November 1997. In addition, the association's Convention and Incentive Travel Bureau won numerous 'Best Convention Bureau' awards issued by different organisations, an assurance of the quality of service available from Hong Kong.
Locally, to highlight the tourism industry's contribution to Hong Kong and to enhance community support for the industry, the HKTA organised the third "Tourism Walks For Charity' event in November. Throughout the year, a public announcement with the theme