HKTB issues a planning guide to encourage group business

HONG KONG The Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) has launched a new 64-page guide for incentive travel and meeting planners to stimulate group movements to the destination. Incentives: The Complete Programme Planning Guide is now available from the HKTB's worldwide offices the board said would "provide an overview of activities, cost-effective ideas, tours and special events…and useful advice to ensure programmes and events held in Hong Kong are always successful" through its staple selling point of an west meets east destination. "One glance at the new guide will convince planners that Hong Kong is well worth looking at in more detail," said HKTB executive director Ms Clara Chong. "We want to show old friends and new contacts that this destination serves business and leisure travellers equally and combines the both for a non-stop treat." "For accompanying spouses and for pre- and post-meeting and conference leisure activities this is very important and the range of motivational and educational options we can make available is endless." HKTB research showed that in 2000, corporate meetings and incentive visitors stayed for an average of 3.36 nights (compared with 3.0 for leisure visitors) and their per capita spending was twice that of the US$582 per capita for visitors as a whole.