ENG-2001 — Page 381

TRAVEL AND TOURISM

of Life Street Carnival will turn the streets of Hong Kong into outdoor performance venues for a festival of music and entertainment.

Through a series of 'Recommendations of the Month', the programme also encourages visitors and residents to venture beyond the usual tourist trails and enjoy festivals and places of interest across all of Hong Kong's 18 districts.

As well as continuing its 'Be A Good Host' campaign, the HKTB assisted the Tourism Commission in appointing Student Ambassadors and Youth Ambassadors to help promote Hong Kong and the 'Be A Good Host' message among their peers. Three celebrities from the entertainment world singers and film stars Leon Lai, Michele Reis and Karen Mok were also appointed 'City of Life: Hong Kong is it!' Ambassadors. Leading film star Jackie Chan continued to promote Hong Kong internationally in his role as Tourism Ambassador.

Convention and Exhibition Travel

Efforts to promote Hong Kong as the convention and exhibition capital of Asia continued in 2001 and brought a series of noteworthy conferences to the city. Heads of state, senior government officials and the chief executives of multinational corporations attended the three-day Fortune Global Forum in May. The World Economic Forum's East Asia Economic Summit in October brought more than 400 visitors, and about 1000 delegates came in June for the 54th World Newspaper Congress, held in conjunction with the 8th World Editors Forum Conference. In November, Hong Kong hosted the 22nd World Productivity Congress, attended by senior international government figures and the heads of some of the world's most influential companies.

In October, the Government announced that it would invest up to $2 billion in the construction of a new exhibition centre at Chek Lap Kok, in conjunction with the Airport Authority, to help nurture Hong Kong's thriving convention and exhibition industry.

Changing Conditions

A world-wide economic slow-down, compounded by a reluctance to travel following the terrorist attacks in the United States in September, resulted in a growth of 5.1 per cent in visitor arrivals to Hong Kong in 2001, a slightly lower figure than had been predicted at the beginning of the year although Hong Kong still managed to break records in reaching 13.7 million arrivals.

While the hotel occupancy rate dropped from 82 per cent in 2000 to 79 per cent in 2001, the sector performed well in light of the global economic and political conditions. In 2001, the average per capita spending was $4,532, a marginal decrease of just $7 or 0.2 per cent on that of 2000.

Encouragingly, average length of stay reversed a declining trend, growing 2.7 per cent to 3.08 nights. Hong Kong remained the most popular single tourist destination in Asia. For the second consecutive year, American consumer magazine Travel + Leisure named Hong Kong Asia's best city.

Protection for Travellers

Travel agents engaged in outbound travel services from Hong Kong are regulated under the Travel Agents Ordinance. The aim of the ordinance is to minimise the

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