Greater bay tourism has shot in the arm
Tourism within the Pearl River Delta region took a big step forward on Thursday with the signing of a key accord by travel associations of the 11 member cities of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Travel Trade Cooperation Agreement, which was inked in Hong Kong, aims to promote regional tourism development and multi-destination collaboration by arranging regular meetings and communication channels among the cities.
The pact puts forward four major measures to boost cooperation — driving the development of tourism resources in the region for mutual synergistic benefit; jointly developing multi-destination tourism products and promotions; holding regular meetings and setting up communication channels to discuss opportunities for collaboration and exchange; and enhancing communication by organizing visits.
“Hong Kong has various transport connections with cities in the Greater Bay Area — by air, sea and rail. The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge is set to open to traffic next year and construction of the third runway at Hong Kong International Airport will be completed in 2020. All these facilities will contribute to cooperation between Hong Kong and other cities in the region,” Edward Yau Tangwah, secretary for commerce and economic development of Hong Kong, told the Greater Bay Area Travel Trade Cooperation Summit.
He said a forum will also be held in Hong Kong next year, themed “Greater Bay Area and Belt and Road Initiative”, with the support of the National Tourism Administration. The forum will be a good platform for members of the travel trade in Guangdong province, Hong Kong and Macao to interact and liaise with each other, and explore opportunities for closer cooperation.
A signing ceremony for the tourism agreement was held at the summit, at which 11 representatives of tourism associations pledged to join hands to drive tourism development within the region.
“Guangdong, Hong Kong
With the agreement in place, I would envision closer collaboration and enhanced synergy among the three places.”
Peter Lam Kin-ngok, chairman of the Hong Kong Tourism Board
and Macao all possess abundant tourism resources and present fascinating tourism appeal for international visitors,” said Peter Lam Kinngok, chairman of the Hong Kong Tourism Board.
He noted that the tourism board has been working closely with Guangdong and Macao to promote multi-destination itineraries to visitors from various source markets, with a view to luring international visitors.
“With the agreement in place, I would envision closer collaboration and enhanced synergy among the three places, as well as the development of more unique multi-destination travel products for visitors in the near future,” Lam added.