HKTB and Visa to roll out US$3.5 million ‘Hot events, cool place’ summer campaign

HKTB is allocating US$3.5 million (HK$27 million) for promotions in visitors' source markets, targeting specifically young people and families in the Mainland and other short-haul markets.

The campaign will run from 22 June to 31 August and will bundle an extensive range of summer activities. Major attractions including Hong Kong Wetland Park, Madame Tussauds Hong Kong, Ngong Ping 360, Ocean Park, sky100 and The Peak will be providing various kinds of offers on shopping and dining.

Under the HKTB-Visa partnership, visitors will receive numerous special offers if they use their Visa cards at designated merchants in Hong Kong during the promotional period.

A prime event in of the campaign is the “Visa go Hong Kong super shopper” contest, jointly organised by the HKTB and Visa. 

In order to encourage more travellers to go for a more in-depth experience of Hong Kong, in addition to enjoying shopping, contestants will be required to design and complete a Hong Kong itinerary based on their preferences for dining, arts and culture, greenery and nightlife.

Between June and July, the HKTB will recruit, through media co-op, two contestants from each of nine short-haul markets: Mainland China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand.

The contestants will fly to Hong Kong and take part in the competition in pairs from 29 to 31 August. Each team will be required to develop a one-day itinerary and complete it.

HKTB chairman James Tien said in a press conference yesterday, “we hope this campaign will help us drive arrivals and stimulate spending during the peak travel season, while increasing Hong Kong’s appeal as a summer destination.”   

In 2011, international visitors spent a record high of US$2.7 billion (HK$21 billion) on their Visa cards during their stays in Hong Kong.