8
The question of whether we should stop setting up any new Trading Fund before the completion of the review is therefore somewhat academic. In any case, I can inform Members that we have not yet reached the point when we would be ready to propose to this Council the setting up of any new Trading Funds. We are, however, aware of a number of prospective candidates, and when we have firmed up our thinking on these we will be pleased to discuss our proposals with Members. It is, after all, the Legislative Council which by resolution has the final say on setting up a trading fund.
Thank
you,
Mr President.
End
Hong Kong Tourist Association Annual Report
Following is the speech by the Secretary For Economic Services, Mr Stephen Ip. in tabling the Hong Kong Tourist Association Annual Report in the Legislative Council today (Wednesday):
Mr President.
I am pleased to table the Annual Report of the Hong Kong Tourist Association for the financial year 1995/96, and to report on the performance of Hong Kong's tourism industry in 1995 and 1996.
Past Performance
1995 was a record-breaking year. Visitor arrivals increased by 9.3% over the previous year's 9.3 million, to a new record total of 10.2 million. Almost all major markets recorded strong growth after the launch of the Wonders Never Cease promotion campaign in April last year.
Tourism receipts are also encouraging. Visitor expenditure grew by almost 16.6%, to a new annual record of 75 billion Hong Kong dollars, which is about 8% of our GDP. This confirms the tourism industry's very valuable role as the second- largest foreign-exchange earner for the Hong Kong economy.