ENG-2005 — Page 367

Travel and Tourism | 317

satisfaction thus maximising their contribution to the economy in terms of length of stay and spending.

The HKTB undertakes extensive market research to assess industry trends, perceptions of Hong Kong in overseas markets and feedback from departing visitors. It shares information with the Government and its tourism industry partners to enable visitor facilities, products and services to be planned effectively and the industry to capitalise on new business opportunities.

A wide range of marketing strategies is employed to target different markets. and demographic segments worldwide. The HKTB worked closely with major overseas. travel trade partners to develop attractive tourism products. As for the media, the HKTB hosted more than 1 400 international media visitors and around 2 500 travel trade representatives on familiarisation trips in 2005.

To cater for the growing trend towards visiting more than one destination on a trip, especially among long-haul visitors, the HKTB also partners with other tourism offices on the Mainland and around Asia to promote Hong Kong as part of multi- destination itineraries.

Information Network

The HKTB operates Visitor Information and Services Centres on Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon, as well as information counters at the Hong Kong International Airport and Lo Wu boundary crossing. In 2005, these centres assisted 1.74 million visitors, distributed 10.86 million pieces of visitor literature, while more than 10 216 enquiries were handled through various channels including the Visitor Hotline. The HKTB also operates a Visitor Information and Services Centre in Beijing to cater for the growing demand for information from Mainland travellers.

The discoverhongkong.com consumer website now receives more than 7 million page views per month. To further enhance its information provision to visitors, an electronic version of the HKTB's popular Hong Kong Leisure Guide for Business Visitors formatted for personal data assistants (PDAs) was launched in 2005 with English and both simplified and traditional Chinese editions. The HKTB is also developing other platforms to disseminate destination information electronically.

Marketing

During the year, the HKTB focused its marketing campaigns on 16 major markets around the world that together account for 90 per cent of all visitor arrivals. It adopts. a flexible and integrated approach tailored to different market needs, including electronic and print media advertising, trade and consumer promotions, trade and media cooperation activities, on-line marketing and public relations campaigns.

The HKTB also continued its efforts to attract high-yield segments such as business and family travellers, with special initiatives encouraging visitors to extend their stays and increase their spending. The themed Mega Events programme is a proven platform to attract visitors and enhance their stay. Four mega events the International Chinese New Year Night Parade, Hong Kong Shopping Festival, Best of the Best Culinary Awards and Hong Kong Winterfest - were held during 2005.