ENG-1993 — Page 357

TRAVEL AND TOURISM

At the end of 1993, the association had 1 699 members, comprising airlines, hotels, travel agents, tour operators and retail, restaurant and other visitor service establishments.

The HKTA maintains two information and gift centres: in the basement of Jardine House in Central and at the Kowloon Star Ferry concourse. In addition, it operates two information counters at the Hong Kong International Airport at Kai Tak. Together, these centres assisted 2.4 million visitors in 1993.

The association runs a general information telephone service in 13 languages for visitors in Hong Kong and a special shopping information service. Together, these lines handled enquiries from 58 165 visitors in 1993. In addition, the association's Infofax service provided information to 5 738 members of the local and overseas travel trade and consumers. This covered such topics as sightseeing, shopping, dining, special interest activities and a calendar of events.

The association provided visitors with some 11.2 million pieces of literature in 12 languages, while continuing to update its publications for the travel trade and overseas consumers. Special emphasis was placed on the production of support material which focusses on the requirements of particular market segments, such as families, senior citizens, honeymooners and sports enthusiasts. The association also continued to advertise, both as a single entity and in co-operation with airlines, tour operators and travel agents, to promote the territory worldwide, in print and on television.

The HKTA has a network of 17 overseas offices whose primary function is to market Hong Kong as a travel destination. It also has an agreement with Cathay Pacific Airways Limited for the airline to act as the association's information agent in an additional 42 cities around the world.

The year 1993 was an active one for the HKTA. It headed Hong Kong delegations to 16 major travel trade events overseas, including the World Travel Market in London and the International Tourism Bourse in Berlin.

In conjunction with travel industry partners such as the Hong Kong Hotels Association and airlines, the HKTA carried out various promotions overseas. These included a Southeast Asia Roadshow to Bangkok, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta and Manila; Hong Kong/Macau update seminars in five Japanese cities; and a Hong Kong travel mission to Taiwan.

In co-operation with Cathay Pacific Airways Limited, the HKTA continued the Friends of Hong Kong Super City programme, which aims to develop a corps of Hong Kong and Cathay Pacific supporters, within Southeast Asia travel agencies which have a track record of promoting Hong Kong. The programme enables travel agency staff to provide more informed advice about Hong Kong when discussing holiday plans with their clients.

Familiarisation visits to Hong Kong were arranged for 3 248 travel agents. A further 501 visiting travel trade personnel were briefed to encourage them to include Hong Kong in their clients' travel itineraries or to persuade tour wholesalers to extend the Hong Kong portion of their current Far East tour packages. A Hong Kong Salutes Europe promotion brought some 70 chief executives and decision-makers from top European travel agencies and tour operators to Hong Kong in September to experience first-hand the latest developments in the territory.

During the year, the association also worked with the some 150 Hong Kong-based foreign correspondents or news organisations, and assisted 1 800 visiting overseas media representatives with their coverage of Hong Kong. For example, in February, a special

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