Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) today said it is expecting about 5.5 per cent growth in tourists coming from India this year compared to last year.
“In 2011, we received around 4,98,063 visitors from India, representing 1.2 per cent of the total arrivals.
However, as the global economy is expected to be sluggish in 2012, which may affect visitor’s interest in outbound travel, we foresee a 5.5 per cent growth in general,” Mr Sunil Puri, representative of Hong Kong Tourism Board in India, told PTI.
To promote tourism in India, HKTB has allocated HK$12.5 million, which is 14 per cent more than last year.
The resources will mainly be focused on the four cities of Mumbai, New Delhi, Bengaluru and Chennai, which are all connected to Hong Kong by direct flights and contribute about 80 per cent of all Indian arrivals, he added.
Promotional campaign
The Hong Kong Tourism Board will further collaborate with travel agents to launch ‘value for money’ Hong Kong summer leisure packages, bundled with popular theme park offers and special shopping and dining privileges offered by Harbour City and Times Square.
The promotional campaign will be divided in two phases targeting the summer and winter holidaying season in India.
“Targeting the family for phase I and young crowd and couples for phase II, the campaign will roll out through a travelogue giving a first-hand experience about the destination,” HKTB said in a release issued here.
The objective of the travelogue is to showcase Hong Kong as Asia’s World City with highlights on its vibrant and cosmopolitan lifestyle along with its unique fusion of east and west as well as great diversity of attractions.
Bollywood actress Sandhya Mridul has been roped in to host the travelogue, it added.