![hong kong tourism board work plan hong kong tourism board work plan](https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1514196/Hong_Kong_Tourism_Board_Hong_Kong_Tourism_Board_Steps_Up_Various.jpg)
We understand how easily our tourism industry can be affected by incidents and events that occur in or outside Hong Kong. Hong Kong has learned from the SARS experience.
#HONG KONG TOURISM BOARD WORK PLAN FREE#
The resulting incentive packages, including free flights and hotel rooms, discount offers and other special deals, all helped to boost arrivals and contributed to the speed of the recovery. One of the most heartening developments was the tremendous response from the travel and tourism sector in Hong Kong at the height of the SARS crisis to join hands and work together with the Government and the Tourism Board. With promotional activities and incentives offered, over half of the potential travellers in most markets would now reconsider travelling to Hong Kong or advancing their trip to Hong Kong. The impact of SARS appeared to be fading away and we are now on the road to recovery. Recent tracking surveys have shown that the travel intention in the next two years remained high in most markets. There are clear signs of increasing confidence in both the short-haul and long-haul markets. The scheme will be extended to the whole of Guangdong in May 2004. Since the introduction of this new Individual Visit Scheme in July, over 460,000 Mainland visitors have applied for the individual visit travel permits and over 200,000 visitors have visited Hong Kong on that basis. The most important development is that residents of eight cities in Guangdong, as well as Shanghai and Beijing, are now able to visit Hong Kong in their personal capacity. There are a few key developments that help the revival of tourism in Hong Kong. August and September saw arrivals in the region of 1.5 million and the first week of October recorded a new record of nearly 400,000 arrivals, representing 6% growth compared with the same period last year. Hong Kong's tourism revival is now evident from recent figures. We realised that it was important to work with other players in the region affected by SARS to overcome the situation.
![hong kong tourism board work plan hong kong tourism board work plan](https://cdn.statcdn.com/Statistic/315000/317143-blank-754.png)
I would like to thank the World Tourism Organisation for acting as an important conduit for the dissemination of such information.Īpart from staying transparent, we also took active steps to plan for our recovery.
![hong kong tourism board work plan hong kong tourism board work plan](https://www.meetings-conventions-asia.com/uploadedImages/News/Destinations/pwHKTB240420.jpg)
We were determined to be a responsible global citizen, providing up-to-date facts and figures on the SARS situation. Since the outbreak, we have used every means possible to explain to the world what was happening in Hong Kong. Hong Kong experienced the impact of SARS first-hand earlier this year. War, terrorism and the outbreak of the SARS epidemic had a devastating effect on the tourism industry. The last two years have been traumatic for the tourism industry worldwide. Secretary for Economic Development & Labour Stephen Ip