China News Agency, Hong Kong, March 1 (Reporter Han Xingtong) The Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) ushered in the first large-scale mainland tourism industry delegation after Hong Kong fully returned to normal on the 1st. Some industry representatives were full of enthusiasm for promoting Hong Kong tourism in the mainland. Confidence, and some representatives of the industry predict that the number of mainland tourists to Hong Kong will increase significantly during the "May Day" holiday and summer vacation.
The picture shows representatives of the mainland tourism industry holding a "Hello, Hong Kong!" slogan in front of the Hong Kong Palace Museum.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Li Zhihua
It is reported that the delegation invited by the HKTB to come to Hong Kong is composed of 120 industry representatives from 38 cities in the Mainland, covering the markets of South China, North China, East China, West China and Central China.
During their stay in Hong Kong, they visited the newly completed M+ Museum and the Hong Kong Palace Museum, Hong Kong Ocean Park Water Park and the new castle in Hong Kong Disneyland, etc.
The delegation also visited Central and Sheung Wan, as well as scenic spots promoted by the Tourism Board's "Big Town Community" campaign, to gain an in-depth understanding of Hong Kong's authentic culture.
Zhou Lei, the representative of Spring (Beijing) International Travel Agency, has been engaged in mainland tourists traveling to Hong Kong for more than 20 years. In the past, he would go back and forth to Hong Kong 8 to 10 times a year. "I saw some new attractions in the West Kowloon Cultural District this morning. Impression.” Zhou Lei is excited about this, and believes that these new attractions will provide him with good materials for designing tourism products to meet the different needs of tourists.
The picture shows representatives of the mainland tourism industry holding a "Hello, Hong Kong!" slogan in front of the Hong Kong Palace Museum.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Li Zhihua
Zhou Lei said frankly that the epidemic has brought about great changes in the tourism industry. Tourists have shifted from large groups to small groups, and from regular tours to boutique tours. Hong Kong's new cultural and artistic attractions, coupled with the existing theme parks and Hong Kong stories, we can design very good family-based parent-child travel products.
Xia Yongping, representative of Shenzhen China International Travel Service, is also full of confidence in the prospect of promoting Hong Kong tourism in the mainland.
He told reporters that since the two places have fully "cleared customs", the number of consultations on Hong Kong tourism products has surged dozens of times compared with that during the epidemic.
He mentioned that since February, the company has launched group tours in Hong Kong, with 3 to 4 groups per week, and in March, tour groups will come to Hong Kong every day. "The feedback from tourists is very good. Thumbs up for the experience."
Xia Yongping predicts that the number of mainland tourists visiting Hong Kong will experience a "retaliatory" increase during the "May 1st" holiday and summer vacation.
He revealed that the company is currently deploying manpower to develop different types of tourism products, such as weekend trips for mainland city tourists in the Greater Bay Area, such as hiking in the countryside, camping in Ocean Park, etc.; for small family groups, it can design yacht experiences, Go to Lamma Island to eat seafood and so on.
On March 1, the Hong Kong Tourism Board welcomed the first mainland tourism delegation to visit Hong Kong after returning to normal. It received 120 tourism industry representatives from 38 cities in the Mainland and allowed them to visit many new attractions in Hong Kong to promote Hong Kong tourism.
The picture shows representatives of the mainland tourism industry holding a "Hello, Hong Kong!" slogan in front of the Hong Kong Palace Museum.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Li Zhihua
Zeng Miao, a representative of Sichuan Baozhong International Travel Agency, lamented that the preparations for Hong Kong’s tourism industry have never stopped during the epidemic after visiting several new attractions.
Cheng Dingyi, Director-General of the HKTB, said that Hong Kong's tourism door has been fully opened to the outside world. The HKTB has arranged about 700 industry and media representatives from mainland China, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, the United Kingdom and other places to visit Hong Kong so far this year. It is hoped that they will launch novel tourism products in the future to show local tourists the charm of Hong Kong tourism and attract tourists to come back as soon as possible.
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