Hong Kong Tourism Board Steps Up Varied Promotions to Drive Tourism Restoration

TORONTO and HONG KONG, May 19, 2021 / CNW / – The Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) hosted its annual Tourism Update event online, where tourism trends were discussed and details of the HKTB’s latest strategic plans were shared with around 2,700 sales representatives from the HKTB Hong Kong, Mainland and overseas travel agents, attractions, hotels, airlines, retailers, restaurants, meeting and exhibition operators, cruise lines and other travel sectors. HKTB Executive Director Mr. Dane Cheng informed representatives that HKTB was preparing to step up promotions and start a new round of campaign for Hong Kong neighborhoods. In addition, the HKTB is hoping to restart mega-events in physical formats in preparation for the recovery of tourism.

The chairman of the HKTB, Dr. YK Pang (left), and Executive Director, Mr. Dane Cheng (right), shared their analysis of recent tourism trends and the HKTB’s latest strategic planning. As the pace of recovery in Hong Kong tourism is determined by the global pandemic situation and the vaccination rate in Hong Kong, they appealed to everyone in the tourism industry to join the vaccination program. (CNW Group / Hong Kong Tourism Board)

Mr. Cheng said, “HKTB has not only promoted, but maintained, local tourism through the Holiday at Home platform Hong Kong’s international profile with a number of advertising campaigns during the pandemic. “

“The world economy has started to recover Asia The mainland is expected to recover sooner and the mainland is expected to outperform other markets in economic growth. Combined with the gradual relaxation of the pandemic situation in Hong Kongthat makes it a good time for Hong Kong to further raise his profile. With the gradual resumption of cross-border travel, HKTB will launch the Open House Hong Kong platform to conduct large-scale promotions in our source markets. “

HKTB has launched two promotions, Old Town Central and Sham Shui Po, as part of its Hong Kong neighborhood campaign in recent years. Both were warmly welcomed by the visitors who appreciated the experience they offered. To tie in with the M + visual culture venue opening in late 2021, the HKTB will focus its next promotion on the West Kowloon cultural district and surrounding areas for the next quarter by redesigning the promotion of the neighborhood’s authentic local cultural aspects of Boost the interest of visitors as the resumption of the journey approaches.

The story goes on

If the pandemic situation in the city remains under control, the HKTB also hopes to get mega-events going again Hong Kong People can participate first. The first event to return in a physical format is the Hong Kong Cyclothon and the HKTB is looking into the feasibility of extending its route to the Hong Kong section of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge to add to the appeal of the Event. For other mega-events that are to be held in “online + offline” format, new interest elements are added to keep them the same Hong Kong’s global visibility. The HKTB will continue to campaign for major international events and meetings in which events take place Hong Kong.

However, the pace of global tourism recovery will be determined by the pandemic-related situation and global vaccination rate. The HKTB therefore appeals to everyone working in the tourism industry to take part in the vaccination program and helps Hong Kong Achieve herd immunity as soon as possible.

At the event, the HKTB invited representatives of leading brands on the mainland and in HK to share their insights:

Forum 1: Take advantage of business development opportunities on the mainland and in the Greater Bay Area

Mr. Yanxiang Liu, General Manager of Tickets & Travel BU, Meituan: “In the wake of the epidemic, the travel industry has accelerated its online transformation and consumer behavior and demand have changed. Meituan is committed to exploring effective ways to fuel tourism recovery. ” We will leverage the strengths of technology and e-commerce to deliver a diverse customer experience and help Hong Kong’s The tourism industry grasps the market trends better and enables us to develop a vision for a better life together. “

Mr. Liwei Yang, Head of the Volcengine Culture & Tourism Industry, ByteDance: “The idea that ‘content is king’ has become the key to success in digital marketing in recent years. Data analysis plays a very important role in the comprehensive communication of content . ByteDance will continue to maximize its big data analytics, cloud computing and artificial intelligence capabilities to move forward with our industrial partners. “

Mr. Frank Huang, Vice President, Fliggy: “The convenience of the Hong KongZhuhai-Macau Bridge will further increase the demand for travel in the Greater Bay Area. Young consumers have become an important visitor segment. Fliggy will continue to use the Hong Kong Tourism trade to attract visitors from the Greater Bay Area through a variety of advertising platforms and resources and to fuel tourism development. “

Forum 2: Global Brands in Hong Kong Prepare for Recovery

DR. Jennifer Cronin, President, Wharf Hotels and Chairman, Heritage Tourism Brands: “Hong Kong’s Hotels are known for providing the best service in the world. Not only was quality improved during the pandemic, but we are also committed to staying one step ahead of the new travel paradigms when it comes to guest expectations. I believe that Hong Kong The tourism industry is more than ready and prepared for a swift recovery. “

Mr. Simon Large, Director Customer, Cathay Pacific Airways: “In order to meet travelers’ expectations throughout their consumer journey, we believe that digitization, such as digital passports in the airline industry, can play an important role in facilitating the safe and gradual return of international travel So that our customers can travel with peace of mind and comfort throughout their journey. Additionally, we believe that vaccinations are the key to tourism recovery. “

Eric Gnock Fah, COO & Co-Founder of KLOOK: “We are experiencing a permanent change in consumer behavior and digital acceptance will only accelerate. The pandemic has posed many challenges for the travel industry, but also offers an opportunity to rethink and reinvent to accommodate changing customer expectations or the risk of being left behind. “

Mr. Syed Asim Hussain, Founder, Black Sheep Restaurants: “I believe in the magic of Black Sheep Restaurants and I believe in our city. Hong Kong will come back in a big way, and we’ll be part of the town’s comeback history. I always tell my team that we’re in a marathon, not a sprint. For the past two years we have focused on survival. Now it’s time for us to do what we love again: run great restaurants, build dynamic teams and look after our guests. “

HKTB announced that preliminary visitor arrivals in April were over 5,700, an increase of 38.3% over the same month last year in 2020. The increase is due to the lower base number compared to the previous year.

Preliminary visitor arrivals in April 2021

Note: Due to rounding up, the sum may differ from the sum of the individual numbers. * Includes numbers from long haul, short haul and emerging markets and the Macau Special Administrative Region. (All details on visitor arrivals in April will be published on 31. May.)

Media representatives can download the press release and photos from the following links:
Press release: https://www.discoverhongkong.com/eng/hktb/newsroom/press-releases.html
Photos: https://hktb.filecamp.com/s/2q5d4qvMlOx7KNgl/fo

A second industry forum at the event examined how brands with a global presence in Hong Kong can prepare for the resumption of international travel. (CNW Group / Hong Kong Tourism Board)

Industry experts, including Yanxiang Liu, General Manager of Tickets & Travel BU, Meituan (top center), Liwei Yang, Head of Volcengine Culture & Tourism Industry, ByteDance, provided insights into new tourism opportunities in the Greater Bay Area markets (top right) , Mr. Frank Huang, Vice President of Fliggy (bottom right), and Dr. Honggen Xiao, Associate Professor of Hotel and Tourism Management at Hong Kong Polytechnic University (left). (CNW Group / Hong Kong Tourism Board)

SOURCE Hong Kong Tourism Board

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