Replies to initial written questions raised by Finance Committee Members in examining the Estimates of Expenditure 2012-13 Director of Bureau : Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Session No. 12 File name : cedb(cit)- doc
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- Examination of Estimates of Expenditure 2012-13
Question : Paragraph 27 under “Brief Description” on Page 303 of the 2012-13 Estimates of Expenditure reads “The effectiveness of the performance of the (Hong Kong Tourism Board) HKTB cannot be assessed entirely in quantifiable terms”. Does the Government have any means to evaluate the effectiveness of HKTB’s annual expenditure of over HK$500 million on promotional activities? What are the justifications for such an enormous amount of expenditure on tourism promotion for Hong Kong? Has the Government considered redeploying the resources for items which incur significant annual expenditure but with questionable effectiveness for the construction of new attractions or improvement of facilities in existing attractions so as to enhance Hong Kong’s attractiveness to tourists and create more job opportunities for local people? If yes, what are the details? If not, will the Government consider doing so as soon as possible? Asked by : Hon. TSE Wai-chun, Paul Reply : The Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) is a statutory body established in 2001 under the Hong Kong Tourism Board Ordinance (Cap. 302). Its core function is to promote Hong Kong globally as a leading international city in Asia and a world class tourist destination. In the face of intense competition in global tourism, it is necessary for Hong Kong to strengthen its promotion efforts in major visitor source markets, so as to maintain our exposure and competitiveness. The HKTB utilises the Government’s subvention to carry out its core function, with a view to raising the level of interest among consumers in visitor source markets in visiting Hong Kong and enriching visitors’ travel experience when they are in Hong Kong. Taking into account the strategic directions set by the HKTB head office in Hong Kong, as well as the interests of different visitor segments in the source markets, the worldwide offices of the HKTB will develop and implement promotions through co-operation with the travel trade and media in the respective market, thereby attracting more visitors to Hong Kong. The HKTB’s promotional work, including launching promotions in selected source markets, staging mega events and devising new travel itineraries, aims to reinforce Hong Kong’s status as a world-class tourist destination and driving visitor arrivals to Hong Kong and their spending, with a view to increasing the economic contribution of tourism to Hong Kong. While the effectiveness of the HKTB’s promotional works is difficult to be quantified, the HKTB has adopted four key tourism industry performance indicators, namely visitor arrivals, visitor spending, visitors’ length of stay and visitors’ satisfaction, for assessing its overall performance. In addition, the HKTB has also adopted other indicators to measure the effectiveness of its marketing strategies and promotional work, and to ensure the effective use of resources. These indicators include the number of tourism promotions launched in various visitor source markets, the level of participation of the trade in the promotions, as well as the publicity value generated by the events. Regarding the construction of new attractions and improvement of facilities in existing attractions, the Tourism Commission is committed to the development of theme parks and the new cruise terminal, including:
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