ENG-1987 — Page 280

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Travel and Tourism

HONG KONG's out-bound travel business is carried out by some 989 travel agents who are licensed by the Registrar of Travel Agents, under the Travel Agents Ordinance, enacted in August 1985.

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About half of the licensed travel agents, including most of the major tour operators, are members of one or more of the six associations which make up the Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong.

These associations are: the Hong Kong Association of Travel Agents, the Society of IATA Passenger Agents, the International Chinese Tourist Association Limited, the Federation of Hong Kong Travellers, the Hong Kong Association of China Travel Organisers, and the Taiwan Tourist Operators Association.

Tourism

Tourism earned an estimated $24,000 million for Hong Kong during the year, an in- crease of 35 per cent over the 1986 figure.

Hong Kong Tourist Association

The Hong Kong Tourist Association (HKTA) is a statutory body set up in 1957. Comprising members from the private sector whose businesses are based on tourism, the HKTA co-ordinates the activities of the industry and advises the government and the industry itself on measures aimed at ensuring growth.

In December 1987, it had 1 590 members, an increase of 4.2 per cent over the 1986 figure. The Chairman and Members of the Board of Management are appointed by the Governor.

The association derives over 90 per cent of its income from a subvention from the government, and the remainder of its revenue from membership dues and the sale of publications and souvenirs, and from tours.

The HKTA has its headquarters in Connaught Centre in Central, on Hong Kong Island. It operates an Information and Gift Centre there, and similar centres at the Star Ferry Concourse in Kowloon and at the Empire Centre in Tsim Sha Tsui East. These centres and the information counter at the Hong Kong International Airport assisted 1.4 million visitors in 1987. The association also runs ‘hotline' telephone services in both English and Japanese, and these together handled 40 000 enquiries during the year. All calls are monitored to provide further insight into visitors' interests and spending patterns.

The marketing overseas of Hong Kong as a tourist destination is carried out primarily through the HKTA's 11 overseas offices and representatives, working closely with the travel trade. Offices are located in San Francisco, New York, Chicago, Sydney, Singapore, Tokyo, Osaka, London and Frankfurt, and there are representative offices in Paris and