Credit: Ngong Ping 360
THE Hong Kong government will be allocating an additional HK$10 million (US$1.2 million) in funds to aid local attractions in drawing more overseas guests.
Named the Matching Fund for Overseas Tourism Promotion by Tourist Attractions (MFTA) scheme, attractions can apply to use the fund in partnership with hotels, travel agencies, retailers or airlines to do joint marketing campaigns abroad. The funding contribution by the government will be capped at HK$2 million or 50 per cent of the total required by each applicant, whichever is lower.
Applications must come in by October 14, 2015 for initiatives running from November 2015 to March 2016. The Hong Kong Tourism Board will vet and approve applicant’s submissions by end-October.
Stella Kwan, managing director of Ngong Ping 360, said traffic this summer had dropped nine per cent compared to last year, attributing the decline to the depreciation of some Asian currencies that dampened travellers’ desire for overseas travel.
“We are interested in the scheme and we will explore different activities when planning promotional visits to different South-east Asian countries and China. Participation in more tradeshows will also be considered as well as the (plan) to penetrate destinations like Indonesia, India and Malaysia,” said Kwan.
Likewise, Hong Kong Ocean Park believes this timely measure will benefit local attractions. “If we were granted the funding, we would launch more promotions in key source markets, such as mainland China, Taiwan, Thailand, the Philippines and India, focusing on winter (November to February) promotions,” said a spokesperson.
While local attendance at Hong Kong Ocean Park remains strong during the summer holidays, the number of foreign visitors had dropped around 15 per cent in July and August compared to last year.
