ENG-2010 — Page 365

Travel and Tourism | 307

as a preferred travel destination. It comprises 20 members from various tourism- related sectors and community leaders. It works from a head office in Hong Kong and has 15 branch offices and seven representative offices around the world.

Information Network

The HKTB has two visitor centres in Hong Kong, on the Peak and in Tsim Sha Tsui respectively, as well as information counters at the Hong Kong International Airport and the Lo Wu boundary crossing.

A 'Hong Kong Pals Programme' launched in 2009 to promote in-depth exploration of Hong Kong for visitors is enjoying success. The programme is run by volunteers, called 'Hong Kong Pals' stationed at the visitor centres to assist tourists.

The HKTB website www.discoverhongkong.com receives more than 4.5 million. visits per month and offers information in 20 languages. It is updated and enhanced regularly. The HKTB also launched a number of sites online for discussion and social networking, as well as videos, blogs and micro-blogs. Taking advantage of the popularity of smart phones, the HKTB has developed functional guides and applications for the mobile phones to promote Hong Kong to visitors. These include the 'Local Delicacies Guide', the Simplified Chinese version of 'HK720' which showcases Hong Kong's attractions in virtual tours with 720-degree panoramas, as well as fun games to promote traditional festivals. The HKTB also collaborates with PCCW, the largest WiFi operator in Hong Kong, to provide visitors with free WiFi access to surf the HKTB website and download mobile applications.

Marketing

The HKTB spearheads promotion programmes in major tourist source markets. It adopted 'Festive Hong Kong 2010' as the marketing theme for the year and staged a series of events to highlight different festivities in Hong Kong. As a marketing platform for the Festive Hong Kong Year, a dedicated mini-site with interactive tools was created to promote Hong Kong during special occasions.

Service Quality

Quality Tourism Services

The HKTB's Quality Tourism Services (QTS) Scheme for promoting quality service at shops, restaurants, visitor accommodation facilities and hair salons is widely supported by the industry and has encouraged many in the industry to improve their services. At the end of 2010, more than 1 330 local establishments with over 7 400 outlets, had earned QTS accreditation.

Honest and Quality Tourism

The Government works closely with the tourism industry and related organisations to promote honest and quality tourism. With the amendment of the Trade Descriptions Ordinance in 2008 to combat false description of goods and other deceptive trade measures, Police and Customs have stepped up inspection and actions against offenders to protect consumers' rights. The Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong (TIC) inspects tour operations and registered shops regularly. It also