President, I will respond to the major pointsraised by Members in the debate today. 

First, let me talk about the long-term planning for the tourism industry. Just now, many Members allege that we do not have any planning, that is, even without planning, we can still achieve the present goodresults. However, this is not the fact. I hope the President can give me sometime to give explanations on this issue.

As Members all know, the tourism industryis one of the four pillar industries of Hong Kong. I reiterate that the Government attaches great importance to the development of the tourism industry.In fact, some of the measures proposed by Members have already been implemented. In January this year, the Chief Executive announced in his Policy Address the setting up of the Economic Development Commission (EDC). The Working Group on Convention and Exhibition Industries and Tourism under it is now exploring the medium-term and long-term term directions of development for the tourism industry in Hong Kong. The Working Group's preliminary view is that the Government must make optimal use of the existing resources and devote greater efforts to such areas as enhancing scenic spots and increasing the supply of hotels and ancillary tourism facilities, so as to meet the needs of the high-yield segments as well as other segments.

All along, we have been striving to build tourism infrastructure to develop Hong Kong into a world-class resort and business travel destination. Members may also be aware that the Kai Tak CruiseTerminal has been opened to the public since last week. This newly commissioned Kai Tak Cruise Terminal is a typical tourism facility and the second berth ofthe terminal will also be completed next year, thus significantly boosting the berthing capacity in Hong Kong. Yesterday, I had the opportunity to take the economic ministers of 10 ASEAN countries and their representatives on a visit of the cruise terminal and after looking at the facilities at the cruise terminal, they all considered it to be very well-equipped and also felt that this kind off acilities in Hong Kong is exemplary and visually pleasing. Therefore, we should not just allege negatively that no development has been carried out inHong Kong. In fact, many large infrastructure projects are being launched one after another.

Also, a number of Members pointed out just now that we had two theme parks and after the completion of the redevelopmen tand expansion projects of the last stage, a new round of development projects are being taken forward in full swing. With regard to the Ocean Park, an all-weather water park project in corporating indoor and outdoor zones will be developed at Tai Shue Wan in 2017. In the last meeting of the EDC, the Chairman, Mr Allan ZEMAN, also gave a presentation on this project to Members and in committee meetings, Members all considered this project to be excellent. The Hong Kong Disneyland Resort will also introduce a novel night-time parade and use advanced technology to attract tourists and enrich their travel experience, as well as building the Iron Man Experience based on the theme of the "IronMan", which is the first one in the world. These projects will further enhance the overall appeal of the two theme parks to tourists as well as our visitor carrying capacity. In the future, we will also explore the specific development recommendations made by the Working Group on Convention and Exhibition Industries and Tourismin relation to the tourism industry.

I wish to talk about the development of hotels.Apart from scenic spots, we will also exert our utmost to enhance various ancillary tourism facilities. For the past few years, the Government has adopted amulti-pronged approach to strive to increase the supply of hotel rooms, for example,to offer "hotel only" sites in the Land Sale Programme and revitalize industrial buildings and historical buildings, so that they can be used for hotel purposes. As of August 2013, there are 219 hotels throughout Hong Kong providing 69 194 rooms in total. This figure represents an increase of 5.4%year on year. We estimate that in the next few years, quite a number of newhotels will come on stream in various districts.

I wish to talk about the development of the retail industry. As Members can see, in recent years, the total retail sales in Hong Kong have seen vigorous growth. The implementation of the IVS in 2003 hassince fuelled the strong development of the retail industry in Hong Kong. Inorder to promote the development of the retail industry and other economic activities, the Government is also making efforts to increase the supplyof commercial sites and facilities. The Land Sale Programme in 2013-2014 includes nine commercial/business sites that can provide about 330 000 sq m of commercial floor area. In the long term, the Planning Department and the Civi lEngineering and Development Department will explore the feasibility of further developing the northern New Territories (including Lok Ma Chau, Man Kam To and theLiantang/Heung Yuen Wai boundary control point) and opportunities of carrying out commercial development in these areas.

Earlier in the debate, Mr Michael TIEN referred to his amendment proposal that a shopping complex be built in the Northwest NewTerritories and North Lantau and many Members also proposed that planning be carried out for a third runway as soon as possible. In fact, the Government has approved in principle the adoption of the three-runway proposal by the Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK) as the direction of development. In order to support Hong Kong's long-term economic development, we will strive to ensure that the limited land on the Hong Kong International Airport island will be fully utilized. A study on the development strategy for the North Commercial Districtat the airport is being carried out by the AAHK and it is expected that detailed planning will be completed by the end of 2013. Meanwhile, the AAHK will also bring its efforts to tie in with the planning on the three-runway system, so as to enable the entire development project to yield the greatest economic benefits.

Many Members also mentioned eco-tourism. As Members all know, the beautiful sceneries in Hong Kong as a metropolis have been internationally renowned for a long time but in fact, our country parks,marine parks and global geopark, which are full of natural beauty, are also visitedand explored by many tourists. For this reason, we agree with the direction of promoting eco-tourism advocated by Mr Tony TSE, Mr Gary FAN, Mr Ronny TONG andMr SIN Chung-kai in their respective amendments. In fact, the Government has all along promoted to our tourists eco-tourism based on nature conservation and sustainable development jointly with the HKTB and the tourism industry and of course, Lantau, with its beautiful sceneries, is also included. This year, the HKTB will also include guided tours with a bicycle touring theme in the "Great Outdoors Hong Kong", so that tourists can ride bicycles to the Northwest New Territories to watch migratory birds and look at the special characteristics of walledvillages. It will also offer free guided hiking tours from Tung Chung to Tai O. We will continue to work closely withthe HKTB and the industry to develop eco-tourism.

On heritage and local cultural tourism, Ialso noticed that several Members, including Mr Tony TSE, Mr TANG Ka-piu, Mr Gary FAN, Mr SIN Chung-kai and Mr CHAN Chi-chuen all proposed the promotion of cultural tourism and tourist attractions with local characteristics. On the promotion of heritage tourism, the Government is now implementing conservationand conversion projects on historical buildings with special characteristics under the Revitalizing Historic Buildings Through Partnership Scheme, whereas the HKTB is responsible for launching promotions targeting the tourism sectorsand tourists overseas, for example, to promote streets and shops with specialcharacteristics, such as Yau Ma Tei Theatre and Lui Seng Chun, in somedistricts in the guide book of the HKTB. The HKTB has all along focused on promoting the Chinese and Western festivities and local cultures in Hong Kong. For example, the "Hong Kong Cultural Celebrations" held in April promotesthe activities that take place in various districts in connection with the Birthdayof Tin Hau, the Birthday of Buddha, the Birthday of Tam Kung and the CheungChau Bun Festival.

At the same time, in conjunction with the HKTB, the Government also recommends to tourists the multifarious tourist attractions found in various districts of Hong Kong. At the end of last year,the HKTB introduced the New Tour Product Development Scheme to encourage thetourism industry to develop novel and attractive tour products under various themes. The products given funding include gourmet tours in Sham Shui Po and tours of the traditional stilt houses in Tai O. We will continue to strive to developeco-tourism and cultural tourism, as well as promote the local culture of various districts to tourists, so as to enrich the experience of tourists visiting Hong Kong.

Just now, a number of Members expressed concern about the transport problem. The Government has all along been closely monitoring the need of the public and inbound tourists for public transport services and ancillary facilities. Therefore, we will continue to co-ordinate various types of public transport services and, having regard to the demand, improve existing services or introduce new services and ancillary facilities.With the coming on stream of a number of major infrastructure projects, such asthe Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, the Hong Kong Section of Guangzhou-Shenzhen-HongKong Express Rail Link, the Shatin to Central Link and the airport expansion project, Hong Kong's overall public transport network, in particular, the carrying capacity of cross-boundary passenger services, will be boosted and upgraded.

Just now, several Members talked about the parking spaces for coaches and passenger pick-up/drop-off facilities.The Government has taken improvement measures in this regard, for example, to provide additional roadside parking spaces or passenger pick-up/drop-off facilities at appropriate locations and consider designating some temporary car parks for useby non-franchised buses only. The expansion project of the Ocean Park will also provide 100 parking spaces designated for non-franchised buses. The Transport Department and the Tourism Commission will also continue to co-operate inproviding sufficient facilities for coaches in newly completed tourism projects.

With regard to the policy on inbound Mainland tourists, although the implementation of the IVS since July 2003 has generated considerable revenue from tourist spending for the retail industry, catering industry and hotels and hostels in Hong Kong, thus giving impetus to the sustained development of the Hong Kong economy as a whole, we also appreciate the concerns in society about the impact of an increase in inbound tourists onthe public. We absolutely agree that any plan to increase the number of in bound tourists must ensure that Hong Kong has sufficient visitor carrying and receiving capacities and that the major principle should be to reduce the impact of tourists on the Hong Kong public as far as possible. We are now conducting an assessment of Hong Kong's overall visitor carrying and receiving capacities and the areas being considered include the capacity of control points, the receiving capacities of tourist spots and public transport, hotel supply, the economic benefits of the IVS, the impact on society and publicliving, and so on. The relevant assessment has entered the final stage and at the present stage, we have nointention of expanding the IVS for Mainland tourists.

We also noticed that competing cities in various regions have committed a great deal of resources to attracting Mainland tourists.In order to maintain the diversity of Hong Kong's tourist source market, in 2013-2014, the HKTB will only use only close to 30% of its resources on the Mainland market, whereas more than 70% of its resources will be committed too ther regions, focused on 20 tourist source markets. The number of inbound tourists staying overnight from these markets accounts for as much as 95% of the total number of inbound tourists staying overnight.

Several Members also expressed concern about the issue of smuggling activities on parallel trades in their amendments.In fact, the Government is very much concerned about the nuisance caused by paralleltrade activities to the daily lives of the public. Since September last year,law-enforcement agencies have taken a number of enforcement actions to combatil legal activities related to parallel trades and compiled a watch list of suspected parallel traders, as well as refused the entry of people whose visit purposes are doubtful. The Security Bureau also entered into the "Co-operationAgreement between Hong Kong and Guangdong on Anti-smuggling" with the Coastal Defense and Anti-Smuggling Office of Guangdong Province in September this year.I believe these measures can improve the order on railways and at control points,as well as protecting the daily lives of the public.

Apart from the development of such hardwareas tourism facilities, just like Mr Tony TSE and Mr Vincent FANG, we are also keenly concerned about software development in terms of talents training. The Government has all along invested heavily in education, and our two subsidized universities and the Vocational Training Council all provide tourism-relatedand hotel-related degree programmes as well as other courses to provide talents to the tourism industry.

On the training of tourist guides and tourescorts, the Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong (TIC), Employees Retraining Board and various training organizations all offer or co-ordinate courses inthis regard, and trainees who have completed the specified courses and passed the examinations will be issued the Tourist Guide Pass or Tour Escort Pass by theTIC. The Government and the TIC also offer courses on nature appreciation and cruise tourism to tie in with the promotion of eco-tourism and cruise tourism.We will continue to monitor closely the supply and demand of manpower resourcesin the tourism industry in Hong Kong to ensure the healthy development of the tourism industry.

Lastly, I wish to talk about laws and regulations for the healthy development of the tourism industry. Mr Paul TSE and Mr TANG Ka-piu both proposed the setting up of a tourism bureau in their respective amendments. In fact, for many years, the policy, publicity and regulatory regime for tourism in Hong Kong have evolved according to market trends and the consensus of the industry and society. At present, the Tourism Commission under the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau, the HKTB, whichis a public body, and the TIC, which is a body for the industry, all play their respective roles and work according to clear division of labour in policy and planning, promotion of tourism and regulation of the industry.

Since the policy and planning on tourism may involve the policy areas of various Policy Bureaux and the interests of many stakeholders,the Commissioner for Tourism is tasked with such a responsibility. As regards other important areas, including the immigration policy, air transport, the hotel licensing regime and even the cleanliness of scenic spots mentioned by a Member just now, they all fall within the ambits ofthe relevant Policy Bureaux.The division of labour in this regard will take into account the integrity and consistency of the policy, the experience of the departments concerned in handling the relevant policies and the professional support needed. When necessary, the Tourism Commission will co-ordinate the work in various areas to promote the development of the tourism industry.

Here, I wish to respond in passing to the issue of monitoring the tourism industry mentioned by Mr SIN Chung-kai in his amendment, including the proposal to amend the Travel Agents Ordinance (TAO).We are now actively making preparations for the establishment of the Travel Industry Authority (TIA) and the introduction of a new regulatory regime forthe tourism industry. It is expected that the bill will be introduced into the Legislative Council in 2014. Since scrutiny by the Legislative Council is required in amending the existing TAO, we believe the most comprehensive and expeditious course of action is to deal with all matters relating to the regulation of the tourism industry altogether under a new bill.

Under the future regulatory regime for the tourism industry, we have proposed a number of new systems to step up regulationand enhance the quality of the sector. We have to prescribe legal requirements for these proposals, including raising the thres hold of travel agencies in joining the industry by establishing a guarantee system and requiring the appointment of authorized representatives. As regards the specific provisions and detailed arrangements under the new regulatory regime, they have to be considered by the TIA after its establishment having regard to such factors as the operation of the market at that time. We hope that the new regulatory regime can further raise the quality of tourism services and maintain the long-term healthy development of the tourism industry in Hong Kong.

In the respective amendments proposed by Mr SIN Chung-kai, Mr TANG Ka-piu and Mr Vincent FANG, great concern is expressed for the quality of the tour escorts and tourist guides in Hong Kong and we will also take into account the situation in this regard under the new regulatory regime. We propose the establishment of a statutory licensing system for tourescorts and tourist guides, with the TIA being responsible for licensing and regulation of tourist guides and tour escorts, including drawing up codes of conduct and setting up a disciplinary system, and so on. In future, people aspiring to becometour escorts and tourist guides will be required to complete the compulsorypre-examination training courses before they can sit for a licensing examination.Tourist guides and tour escorts will be required to complete designated Continuing Professional Development courses for renewal of licences.

On the handling of complaints, we propose that under the new regulatory regime, non-disciplinary complaints concerning service/commercial disputes between consumers and travel agencies be handled by the highly experienced TIC. According to legal advice, it is not appropriate for the TIA as the licensing authority to play a part in resolving disputes involving travel agencies, so as to avoid allegations of conflict of interest,since the mediation may affect the impartiality of the TIA as a regulatory body.

President, in the past few years, the Government and the tourism sector have both actively promoted the development of the tourism industry and the results are readily seen. However, we will remain alert to any potential problems. In the face of the keen competition in the region, Hong Kong will further enhance its tourism infrastructure and various relevant complementary facilities, enact legislation related to the healthydevelopment of the tourism industry, co-operate closely with the tourism industry and relevant sectors, develop and promote more quality and diversified tourism products as well as providing training to workers, so as to enhance the experience of tourists in visiting Hong Kong.

The motion debate sponsored by Mr YIU Si-wing is an issue of great concern to the Government and the general public,and the scope involved in the amendments proposed by various Members is alsovery extensive. Once again, I thank Members for their concern and proposals,which I will relay to the relevant Policy Bureaux. At the same time, we will also review various tourism policies regularly and strive to seize opportunities, as well as listening to the views of various parties with an open and humble mind, in order to ensure that Hong Kong will continue to be aworld-class tourist destination.

Thank you, President.