ENG-1997 — Page 394

TRAVEL AND TOURISM

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strategy for visitor signage and information, and a study on further tourism development in Tung Chung and Tai Ho on Lantau Island.

The government has started a consultancy study of the provision of additional convention and exhibition facilities, and is about to undertake another on the manpower and training needs of the travel and tourism industry.

Apart from these above studies, the government will set up a $100 million International Events Fund to help support the staging of some 50 international events in Hong Kong.

The HKTA is developing a series of do-it-yourself Heritage and Architecture Walks on Hong Kong Island, and in Kowloon and the New Territories. Upon completion, these walks will include automatic narrations in different languages, which introduce visitors to the history, and past and present architecture of Hong Kong.

Outbound Travel

Some 1 200 travel agents are licensed under the Travel Agents Ordinance to conduct Hong Kong's outbound travel business.

The Registrar of Travel Agents is responsible for regulatory functions under the ordinance, such as licensing and financial checking of outbound travel agents, and hearing appeals and handling complaints concerning suspected unlicensed travel agents. In line with the policy objective to promote self-regulation of the outbound travel industry, regulation is undertaken through the mutually complementary work of the Registrar and the Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong (TIC). A travel agent must be a member of the TIC before it is licensed.

The TIC, as the self-regulatory organisation of the outbound travel industry, is mainly responsible for improving trade practices; formulating and enforcing codes of conduct and directives for the industry; collecting statutory levies; handling public complaints and enquiries; and establishing membership criteria and maintaining membership records. Member travel agents who breach the rules of self-regulation risk losing TIC membership and the licence to operate.

Under the auspices of the Advisory Committee on Travel Agents (ACTA), a review was carried out in 1996 to strengthen the regulatory mechanism of licensed travel agents. Several measures were recommended to provide better protection to outbound travellers. These included stepping up financial surveillance of travel agents, monitoring the records of substantiated complaints against travel agents as a reference in considering renewal of licences, and setting up a task group to advise on appropriate actions to be taken when a travel agent is found to be in financial difficulty. These recommendations were implemented during the year.

In August 1997, a tour accident in Manila resulted in the deaths of seven Hong Kong tourists. The ACTA subsequently reviewed the safety measures for outbound travellers and made several recommendations to improve safety precautions and emergency handling. The TIC has agreed to adopt these recommendations and to draw up detailed directives for implementation within the travel industry.

The Travel Industry Compensation Fund (TICF) was set up in October 1993 to protect participants of outbound package tours. It is under an independent management board and derives its income from contributions from licensed travel agents in the form of a levy on package tours and from investments and bank