| Journal: TWUK | Section: |
| Title: | Issue Date: 26/06/00 |
| Author: | Page Number: 40 |
| Copyright: Other |
Hong Kong by Linsey McNeill
Head out of town for some New Territories
Leave the city for a distinctive change
Hong Kong is usually thought of as a city destination, but the tourism authorities are trying to get more visitors to explore the countryside beyond the metropolis.As part of this new initiative, the Hong Kong Tourist Association has launched a new hiking and wildlife guidebook, Exploring Hong Kong’s Countryside, available from its visitor information centres. Copies cost around £7.
To further encourage visitors to stride out into the countryside, a heritage trail through the New Territories has recently been opened to the public.
The Lung Yeuk Tau trail passes through ancient village communities close to the boundary with mainland China. Further details are available from the tourist office.
Adding a cultural dimension is a new Hong Kong Heritage Museum, due to open in Sha Tin in the New Territories this year.
Designed to preserve, study, present and interpret the cultural identity of Hong Kong, the museum has taken four years to get up and running.
One initiative that is bound to draw more visitors beyond the city is the new Disneyland attraction, which is being built on Penny’s Bay on Lantau Island, close to the new international airport, although the site will not open until 2005.
Within the city itself, new attractions are opening to persuade visitors to return to Hong Kong and to stay longer once they’re there.
In August, a Madame Tussaud’s will open on The Peak. It will be the first permanent waxworks museum in Asia.
Wan Chai, one of Hong Kong’s oldest and most famous areas, is being redeveloped to provide a dining and entertainments area to rival the popular SoHo and Lan Kwai Fong.
A new entertainment and dining area is also being planned for Aberdeen, and there are plans for a new district that will be dedicated to the performing arts and entertainment on reclaimed land in the West Kowloon area.
Both proposals are currently being considered by the government.
To increase agents’ knowledge of the destination, the HKTA has launched Hong Kong Specialist, a self-training programme for agents.
Its aim is to use correspondence courses to establish a strong pool of agents who are Hong Kong specialists. (see page 39).
The tourist authority has also launched a joint radio advertising campaign with national carrier Cathay Pacific to promote Hong Kong as a stopover en route to Australia.
Cathay is offering a free night’s stopover to passengers travelling beyond Hong Kong who book before the end of this month for travel before the end of the year.
Venturing out: sites such as the Po Lin monastery are drawing visitors
Venturing out: sites such as the Po Lin monastery are drawing visitors
The Lung Yeuk trail passes through ancient village communities