MR YIU SI-WING: President and Chief Executive, tourism is one of the pillar industries of Hong Kong. It can promote employment, and more than 210 000 people are engaged in tourism-related trades and industries. Moreover, the consumption arising from inbound tourism is worth more than $200 billion. However, the Policy Address this time around contains no development plan for Hong Kong's tourism industry. The industry is only mentioned briefly in nine different paragraphs, and the content is not quite so organized.

Chief Executive, may I ask whether the Government will formulate an integrated plan for the development of Hong Kong's tourism industry, and whether it will set a timetable for key tourism projects?

CHIEF EXECUTIVE: President, tourism is an important industry of Hong Kong. Its importance lies not only in its contribution to the annual GDP, but also in the job opportunities it makes available to large numbers of low-skilled or semi-skilled workers. For that reason, the SAR Government attaches a great deal of importance to the sustainable development of Hong Kong's tourism industry.
Before we make any new decision, we will listen further to the views of all people through the Working Group on Convention and Exhibition Industries and Tourism under the Economic Development Commission, so as to ascertain how best our tourism industry can achieve the kind of sustainable development that can contribute to Hong Kong's economic development on the one hand, and provide better job opportunities to our working population on the other. Should Mr YIU or other people in society have any views on the further development of our tourism industry, be they about scenic spots or the entry policy, I will be all ears. 

MR YIU SI-WING: President, just now the Chief Executive said that projects would be rolled out once they are ready. Regarding the many tourism projects, I wonder if the Chief Executive will give priority consideration to any one of them, say, the Lantau project.

CHIEF EXECUTIVE: President, at present, while looking for new sources of visitors for the tourism industry, we must also think in the direction of another important factor: our own capacity. At present, we apparently do not face any shortage of inbound visitors, but we must note that our own capacity is also very important. The capacities of our scenic spots, shopping districts and hotel rooms, as well as the capacity problem of our exhibition and convention venues which we often hear of these days, are all factors we must consider, many of which are related to our town planning and land development. I have always asked myself if we should also think about one direction when considering the capacity issue. All is just my personal view. Should we also consider the direction of exploring how we can increase the business turnover of the tourism industry while our capacities remain unchanged? Is there any room for the upgrading and transformation of our tourism industry? I am very keen to hear the views of the industry.