Mission to spur multi-destination tourism

TOURISM       HKTB

Malaysia - The Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) has teamed up with the Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO), Tourism Administration of Guangzhou Municipality (TAGM), Zhongshan Municipal Tourism Bureau (ZSMTB) and Jiangmen Tourism Bureau (JMTB) in a first-ever joint visit to Southeast Asia.

With the mission of promoting multi-destination travel packages featuring the five cities, the delegation's visit itinerary includes Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia, during which they will meet the travel trade partners and media in the respective markets, and introduce to them the latest tourism developments in the cities.

"The Asian outbound travel market is booming, and the majority of the trips are within Asia. In particular, arrivals from Malaysia to Hong Kong, Macau and Guangdong have been on the increasing trend," said Anthony Lau, executive director, HKTB.

In 2010, Hong Kong welcomed close to 580,000 Malaysian visitors, a 31% increase from 2009. The average per capita spending was HK$5,010 across an average of three days. Macau received 340,000 visitors last year while Jiangmen had 22,000.

Within the SEA region, Malaysians account for the largest percentage of visitors. Within the first four months (January - April) of 2011, Hong Kong has already seen over 190,000 Malaysian visitors, some 14% ahead of 2010. HKTB expects a 5.8% rise in visitors from Malaysia this year.

Hong Kong, with its tagline of "Asia's World City" plans to roll out ten major campaigns this year, and is expanding its foray into the digital space with the incorporation of augmented reality technology via a city guide app currently in development with Cathy Pacific.

When asked how aggressive marketing efforts will be for the multi-city packages in the SEA region, Lau said traditional advertising will certainly play a part but declined to share any numbers, calling the allocated A&P budget "considerable".

The current aim for the joint promotion programme is to raise awareness and pique interest primarily via public relations and B2B initiatives to introduce SEA markets to what's on offer.

Out of the total Malaysian visitors to Hong Kong (580,000 visitors), 53% visited multiple destinations and about 21% of visitors visited Hong Kong and Guangdong in 2010.

Speaking to reporters at the event, Lau said multiple destination itineraries is on an upward trend and hopes the collaborative programme between the cities will ride on current momentum to help spur the uptake further.

Lau added that should the promotion prove a success, more will be invested in developing new products and establishing a higher presence in target markets.

With the rapid development of tourism facilities, as well as the sea and land transportation between Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Jiangmen, Macau and Zhonghsan, visitors will be guaranteed greater convenience in travelling around the region, with the opening of various ports of entry and the 144-hour convenient group visa arrangement offering.

"Using a thematic approach, we have devised a range of itineraries that integrated the tourism resources of different cities," Lau added.

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