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TRAVEL AND TOURISM
of Hong Kong and generate visitors during 'off-peak' periods. More than 16 500 consumers attended the three fairs and some 2 000 packages were sold, generating revenue of some $9.5 million.
In November, the HKTA organised the Hong Kong Expo 2000 in Stockholm, Sweden, to facilitate business contacts between members of the Scandinavian travel trade and their Hong Kong counterparts. Exhibitors included one Finnish and 14 Swedish tour operators, 11 Hong Kong hotels and seven Hong Kong ground handlers. More than 370 members of the trade attended the Expo. Back in Hong Kong, the HKTA successfully promoted Hong Kong to almost 9 500 travel trade professionals, 90 representatives of the travel media from 30 countries and more than 60 000 visitors at the International Travel Expo '96.
The 'Events Capital of Asia'
In the year, the HKTA continued to organise a series of events promoting the territory as a year-round travel destination, highlighting its unique blend of East and West, and extensive range of top-quality events and attractions.
For the first time, the HKTA organised a Chinese New Year Parade on the first day of the Year of the Rat. The spectacular two-hour-long Parade featured 19 floats sponsored by major Hong Kong and international companies, as well as street performances by 26 groups of international and local entertainers. About 50 000 spectators lined the route and one million watched on local television. Millions more world-wide were able to watch it through satellite link-ups or news broadcasts.
In February, in conjunction with the parade, the HKTA inaugurated a Health and Fortune Expo which brought together a wide range of specialists in such fields as fung shui, acupuncture, tarot card reading, astrology, holistic healing and other eclectic sciences. More than 6 000 people attended the Expo.
In March, the HKTA celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Hong Kong Food Festival with an extra-special array of food-related events and tours. More than 40 journalists and TV crews from around the world attended the festival.
In June, the Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival International Races moved to a new racing venue - the Shing Mun River in Sha Tin. The festival has proved its status as one of the world's premier dragon-boat racing events, attracting 29 overseas crews and 124 local teams. Row for Charity Races raised $798,000 for the Community Chest of Hong Kong.
The HKTA also carried out overseas promotions of other Hong Kong events such as Hong Kong Arts Festival, the Cathay Pacific/Hongkong Bank Invitation Seven-A- Side Rugby Tournament and the Hong Kong production of Les Miserables.
Special shopping promotions were organised in conjunction with the Association of Retailers and Tourism Services (ARTS) and HKTA member establishments to encourage more visitors to come to Hong Kong during the softer summer and winter months. These promotions offered special discounts and other bonuses for shoppers in Hong Kong during these periods.
The HKTA's own special interest tours - The Land Between Tour, the Come Horseracing Tour, the Sports and Recreation Tour, the Heritage Tour and the Family Insight Tour were enjoyed by 35 800 visitors during 1996. Special culinary