ENG-1993 — Page 358

TRAVEL AND TOURISM

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Sumo in Hong Kong tournament involved 40 sumo wrestlers and resulted in extensive international coverage, particularly in Japan. Some 60 food writers and members of television crews were brought in to cover the 1993 Hong Kong Food Festival, resulting in extensive overseas publicity for Hong Kong's culinary attractions.

In its marketing of Hong Kong as a tourist destination, the HKTA organised a series of events to promote the territory as a year-round travel destination-highlighting its special blend of East and West, and extensive range of top-quality attractions. The Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival International Races, organised for the 18th consecutive year in early July, were a major attraction and received widespread international publicity. A total of 30 overseas and 129 local crews competed in the race programme and a series of charity races raised $1.02 million for the Community Chest.

The HKTA also carried out overseas promotions for other special events, such as the Hong Kong Arts Festival, the musical Barnum, the Image Hong Kong photographic event, the Cathay Pacific/Hongkong Bank Invitation Seven-A-Side Rugby Tournament and the Cathay Pacific/Wharf Holdings International Cricket Sixes, highlighting Hong Kong's role as a major venue for arts and sports.

In addition, the association operated a number of special interest tours for visitors, including The Land Between Tour, the Come Horseracing tour, the Family Insight Tour, the Sports and Recreation Tour and the Heritage Tour.

The association's marketing theme, 'Hong Kong-Stay an Extra Day', remained instrumental in encouraging visitors to stay longer. The HKTA continued to use the 'Hong Kong à la carte' promotion, which rewards visitors booking a longer-than-average Hong Kong holiday with a booklet of special offers from retail, dining, sightseeing and entertainment establishments. More than 228 400 booklets have been distributed overseas since the start of the scheme in 1991.

The association continued to actively promote Hong Kong as a venue for conventions and incentive travel business. Efforts in this area were rewarded by a 10 per cent increase in 1993 in the number of delegates attending conventions and exhibitions in Hong Kong. Highlights included the 35th World Congress of Surgery International Surgical Week in August and the 1993 Junior Chamber International Hong Kong Congress in November, bringing in 2 500 and 12 000 delegates, respectively.

Locally, to highlight the tourism industry's contribution to Hong Kong and to enhance the community's support for the industry, the HKTA organised the second Hong Kong Tourism Day in December. The programme's activities included a charity walk and a tree-planting ceremony. Throughout the year, a public announcement with the theme 'Tourism Works for Hong Kong' continued to be televised on all four local channels to highlight the contribution of the industry to the territory's economic well-being.

The association recognises the importance of training in the industry to maintain Hong Kong's high reputation for service. Its Industry Training Department runs various programmes for staff in the retail trade, as well as courses designed specifically for tour co-ordinators and restaurant personnel. To attract school-leavers to the industry, the association organises annually the Tourism Employees Preparatory Programme, while the complementary Job Bazaar enables prospective employers to meet participants in this programme. There is also a free Tourism Employees Recruitment Service.

The HKTA continued to encourage higher levels of courtesy through the ongoing Hong Kong Cares courtesy campaign. During the year, the association organised a Hong Kong