Designation, Control and Management of Country Parks（2013/11/13）

MR YIU SI-WING: President, if we visit country parks, we may notice that more and more overseas and Mainland tourists like to visit our country parks. Evidently, country parks do have a part to play in enhancing Hong Kong's image and diverting visitors.
May I ask if the Secretary has any statistics on inbound overseas and Mainland visitors, or if the Government has collected visitors views and formulated the corresponding improvement measures?

SECRETARY FOR THE ENVIRONMENT: President, I thank Mr YIU for his supplementary question. I believe Members should be aware that country parks in Hong Kong are not opened for the enjoyment of local residents alone, they also provide a very good environment to attract overseas visitors who can enjoy the natural habitats in this urbanized Hong Kong. From my personal experience in country parks, more and more tourists and foreigners are coming to enjoy the parks.

I do not have the relevant statistics on inbound visitors in hand, but if necessary, we may follow up with the relevant departments to see if such information is available. Basically, we have enhanced the knowledge of local residents and foreigners about the different tourist spots in Hong Kong through various means, such as promotion and publicity. This will bring benefits to Hong Kong's environment and economy at large.