ENG-1972 — Page 173

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IMMIGRATION AND TOURISM

range of free literature and improved its information services to ensure that visitors would take advantage of the many varied attractions offered by Hong Kong.

The hotel situation improved considerably with the opening of two major hotels with almost 2,000 rooms in Causeway Bay and several smaller hotels which helped to relieve the shortage experienced in the last two years; altogether another 2,309 rooms were added in 1972. Nevertheless all rooms were fully booked for parts of October and November. The opening of the cross-harbour tunnel improved the trans- port situation for hotels located on Hong Kong Island by considerably reducing the time taken for the journey to and from the Airport. It has also resulted in the emer- gence of Causeway Bay, where the tunnel opening is located on the Island, as the third major tourist district of Hong Kong, following Tsim Sha Tsui and Victoria.

The announcement of plans by a local consortium to build a major trade and convention centre in Causeway Bay, led to a considerable revival of interest in promot- ing Hong Kong as a major convention city, thus widening the scope of its attractions as a tourist destination.

There was a decline in the average length of stay of all visitors from 3.6 days in 1971 to 3.2 days in 1972. In order to improve the average length of stay of visitors, various resort projects are under consideration for Lantau and other outlying, rural districts of the New Territories. Carefully planned resort areas, taking advantage of Hong Kong's beaches, natural resources and potential sporting facilities, would go a long way towards maintaining Hong Kong's position as the leading tourist destina- tion in Asia, as well as providing recreational facilities for local residents.

The Hong Kong Tourist Association expanded its activities throughout 1972. During the year, the association established direct representation in the United Kingdom and Western Europe by appointing its first European Representative. Its offices overseas, in conjunction with Cathay Pacific Airways, continued to promote Hong Kong as a tourist centre.

A successful promotion campaign was launched in all the major markets using the Hong Kong Lightshow, an audio-visual, multi-screen slide presentation. The Lightshow formed the focal point of the Hong Kong Travel Fair which included Chinese traditional entertainment, a Hong Kong fashion show, seminars and open forum discussions and was the largest promotion ever undertaken by Hong Kong's tourist industry in the United States. This promotion was mounted with modifica- tions in Washington, Denver, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles and at the Convention of the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) in Las Vegas.