ENG-1996 — Page 403

TRAVEL AND TOURISM

information to thousands of fax-users via the Infofax service; and responded to some 61 370 enquiries on the Mandarin, Japanese and multi-lingual telephone hotlines.

Marketing Activities

The new HKTA campaign launched in 1995 under the theme Hong Kong: Wonders Never Cease has won awards world wide. The HKTA's Home Page on the Internet (http://www.hkta.org) continued to expand and received many accolades from international organisations.

The HKTA continued to participate in the Pearl River Delta Tourism Marketing Organisation. This includes the Macau Government Tourist Office and the Guangdong Provincial Tourism Bureau, with support from the China National Tourism Administration and trade organisations. During the year, the organisation was represented at 12 major travel trade shows abroad and organised a series of 16 familiarisation trips to the Pearl River Delta for 130 travel trade personnel and 15 members of the international media. Some 100 000 brochures and leaflets about the attractions of the Pearl River Delta were distributed at these shows, as well as through the international travel trade. In all, 30 tour operators in 20 countries now sell Pearl River Delta packages.

The HKTA's innovative Mobile Pavilion - a tourism roadshow and exhibition transported in two container trucks. reached more than 100 000 potential visitors in 51 cities and towns throughout Europe. A six-week tour of the UK at the end of 1996 attracted some 44 000 visitors during its eight stops in major towns and cities.

In pursuit of raising the world-wide awareness of Hong Kong as a Cruising Hub of Asia, the HKTA attended several major cruise trade shows in the USA and Australia major markets for cruise visitors. The China National Tourism Administration joined the association for the cruise trade show in the USA, in promoting the attractions of cruising to both Hong Kong and China.

Other major travel trade events overseas which the HKTA attended along with industry partners from Hong Kong included the World Travel Market in London, the International Tourism Exchange in Berlin, the Asia Travel Mart in Singapore and the Pacific Asia Travel Association Travel Mart in Bangkok.

Joint promotions with travel industry partners such as hotels and airlines were also conducted overseas. These included a South-East Asia Roadshow to Bangkok, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta and Manila, and travel trade missions to Taiwan and Japan.

Apart from the Hong Kong-USA Promotion in the United States organised jointly with the government and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, the association conducted special tourism workshops in parallel with business seminars in New York, Dallas and Los Angeles, attracting high-level business and industry decision-makers. The association also organised Wonders Never Cease consumer shows and exhibitions, featuring top Hong Kong singing and acting stars, as well as professional craftsmen and other entertainers in New York and Los Angeles. More than 100 000 visitors were attracted to both these events with the opportunity to see a wide range of Hong Kong's attractions through the events' innovative use of high- tech interactive information kiosks.

Other marketing activities carried out in 1996 included a Hong Kong Consumer Travel Fair in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok, helping to enhance awareness

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