Hong Kong visitor arrivals rises from GCC markets
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The Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) announced that visitor arrivals from the Middle East to Hong Kong recorded a year-on-year increase of 4.2% in the first quarter of 2013, with markets in the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) region showing robust growth of 13.1%.
Rising on this growth, the tourism board has taken on Gulf Reps Ltd as its trade representative in the region, effective from 1 May 2013
Anthony Lau, executive director of the HKTB, said: “We are delighted to see positive growth in the GCC markets. In recent years, the HKTB has been actively developing new markets to open up visitor sources for Hong Kong. Given the healthy growth and spending power of consumers in the region, the GCC area has been identified as one of Hong Kong’s key new markets. Leveraging the growth momentum, we will focus on attracting the family and young segments in the market, and sustain our investment to develop the long-term potential of this region.”
In order to strengthen and boost its presence in the region, HKTB will work closely with Gulf Reps building on its expertise in the travel trade industry and extensive network. Simultaneously, the Gulf Reps team will assist in the HKTB’s outreach to the travel trade and consumers in the GCC markets.
In addition to trade promotion, the HKTB is planning a series of initiatives in the coming months that aim at driving more arrivals to Hong Kong in the post-Ramadan holiday. Major activities include the launch of an Arabic version of the HKTB’s DiscoverHongKong.com website and publication of an Arabic travel guidebook targeting family visitors. Visitors from the GCC markets can obtain more information about Hong Kong via these two channels.