Tour Scheme Incentives Enhanced

The Government today announced that it will double the cash incentives for travel agents organising tours under the Green Lifestyle Local Tour Incentive Scheme to foster local economic revival and relaunch the tourism industry.

The cash incentive amount per tour participant served by a travel agent will double to $200 while the quota of tour participants for each travel agent to apply for the cash incentives will double to 1,000. The enhancement measures will be effective from tomorrow.

With the epidemic subsiding locally, the Government will relax social distancing measures, including relaxing the number of people allowed in group gatherings in public places from eight to 50, thereby offering a great opportunity to relaunch local tourism, Secretary for Commerce & Economic Development Edward Yau said.

“Under the further enhancement measures, the maximum amount of cash incentives available to each travel agent will be increased from $50,000 to $200,000 to encourage them to organise more local tours.

“At the same time, as the scheme requires local tours to incorporate catering and transportation elements as well as engage accredited tourist guides or tour escorts, the measures can also benefit the relevant sectors."

Meanwhile, the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) launched the Holiday at Home campaign earlier this week to encourage Hong Kong people to be tourists in their own city and rediscover the beauty of Hong Kong from a new perspective.

Mr Yau noted that with the staunch support of local tourism, retail and catering industries, the campaign provides different offers to boost local consumption.

Once it is possible for visitors from certain markets to travel to Hong Kong, the HKTB will appeal to such visitors by extending travel and local spending information and campaign offers, together with attractive flight and hotel packages, he added.