30 minute interview

'We plan to set up representative office in Chennai'

With landmark bilateral agreements being signed between India and Hong Kong on the aviation front, Hong Kong Tourism Board is now looking to secure a bigger share of India's outbound traffic. So reveals Anthony Lau, its executive director. By Andrea Lopez

Anthony Lau executive director, Hong Kong Tourism Board

How does HKTB plan to reap maximum benefit from renewed bilaterals?

Growth in this sector was stifled because of the limited number of flights. With bilaterals in place now, India and Hong Kong can jointly operate a total of 74 weekly flights. This is starkly different from the 20 weekly flights last year. Cathay Pacific has already increased its services to the key metros and has plans to tap the southern markets in India. With better flight connectivity, we now have the capacity to enhance investment in this country.

What strategy will you be pursuing for 2008-09?

We will be working on a three-pronged approach for the Indian market this year. Hong Kong, with its theme parks makes for an ideal family destination and for this we plan to target a larger number of families. We have three products that we are currently actively promoting under the Hong Kong Summer temptations banner - Disney Land, Ocean Park and Ngong Ping.

Second, we plan to use Hong Kong as a hub for business travellers flying onwards to the West or Australia. We would like to capture this share of travellers and make them stay for a longer duration in Hong Kong. What's more is that apart from the 14-day free visa, travellers in transit are even permitted to step outside the airport and do city tours and then return to take their connecting flights. We are probably the only city to permit an arrangement like this.

Thirdly, a lot of Indian companies have been looking to grant incentives to their employees and 59 per cent of Indian travellers to Hong Kong are corporate. We want to reach out and secure this segment and make them aware that Hong Kong can be one of their preferred MICE destinations. We plan to set up a dedicated team in the next quarter to drive the MICE business. We are also looking at working out multi-destination itineraries with other cities like Macau.

What about tapping the cruise market?

We are working with Star Cruises to encourage more Indians to go cruising. The government of Hong Kong has been making efforts to develop Hong Kong into a superior cruising hub. It has invested in a state-of-the-art cruise terminal that will be completed by 2012. The Super Star Virgo too has relocated from Singapore to Hong Kong. Costa Cruises and Royal Caribbean have both expressed their interest in adding more ships here.

The southern markets remain relatively unexplored by you.

We want to capture and expand our reach in the southern markets, including Chennai and Bengaluru. We have plans to open a representative office in Chennai. With enhanced air connectivity, we can now move beyond the traditional markets. Dragonair will commence its service to Bengaluru soon.

What are your plans for the trade in India?

We have been conducting specialist programme for them. We plan to pool in additional resources and expand the training programme, particularly in the south. We want to work with airlines, hotels and the trade to design more attractive packages. As far as numbers go, in 2007, Hong Kong received 3,50,000 arrivals from India. For 2008, we have set a target of 5,00,000.