With visitor arrivals up, and a new look and vision for the HKTA, the worst is over for Hong Kong's tourism industry

Arecord 13.06 million people visited Hong Kong last year, which tops the 1996 peak for arrivals and finally puts to rest the post-handover recession blues, Hong Kong Tourism Association Chairman Selina Chow said at the Chamber's Jan. 11 luncheon.

Though figures are up, Mrs Chow said the growing trend that visitors are staying for few days and are spending less is a cause for concern.

To a certain extent, this is due to the fact that almost a third of visitors are day-trippers, including more than 70 percent of the 2.1 million big-spending Taiwanese visitors.

"Obviously, one of our goals is to convince more transit travellers to stay overnight in Hong Kong," she said.

The HKTA will also be targeting high-yield sectors in all major markets. Promotion of Hong Kong to business travellers, particularly as a meeting, exhibition and incentive destination, will help draw in more business visitors who stay twice as long and spend twice as much as people on holiday, Mrs Chow said.

She also announced that the HKTA will change its name to the Hong Kong Tourism Board on April 1. Complete with a newly designed junk logo, the tourism body will also have more impetus to drive forward tourism goals, and Mrs Chow stressed that the change is not only a cosmetic facelift.

"Instead of a nanny, the industry needs a strategic body that can vigorously market Hong Kong abroad and provide a platform for all members of the tourism industry to market their specific products or services," she said.

The tourism board's main responsibilities will continue to be the promotion and marketing of Hong Kong globally to increase the fiscal contribution of tourism to Hong Kong. It will also continue to support other members of the tourism industry, and help promote the importance of tourism to the Hong Kong community.

"Our current mission is to develop a hospitality culture in Hong Kong. Anyone who visited Australia during the Olympics will know what a difference that can make to the impression visitors can gain of a destination," she said.

Some success did come out of the "Be A Good Host" campaign, but the HKTA is about to embark on a mega campaign that will include tapping the domestic tourism market.