Promotion of tourism (2017/06/28) (Supplementary)
Promotion of tourism (2017/06/28) (Supplementary)
Promotion of tourism (2017/06/28) (Supplementary)
MR YIU SI-WING (in Cantonese): President, first of all I would like to thank the Secretary for his service and contribution to Hong Kong's tourism industry over the past five years. I would like to tell the Secretary that the recurrent funding provided by the SAR Government to HKTB each year has specified uses, and if the industry wishes to implement new collaborative projects with HKTB or promote new ideas, its application for adjusting the use of some funding will be rejected by HKTB on the ground that "dedicated funds should be used for dedicated use", leaving no room for adjustment. The mechanism is obviously too rigid and inflexible.
May I ask the Secretary whether the Bureau will, when allocating funding to HKTB in future, consider setting aside a certain percentage of funding to be used by HKTB flexibly for promotion? In other words, HKTB can handle part of the funding flexibly under the vetting mechanism.
SECRETARY FOR COMMERCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (in Cantonese): President, HKTB's total estimated marketing budget in 2017-2018 is $620 million, which is 8% higher than the amount of $572 million in 2016-2017. This reflects that we provide sufficient resources to HKTB according to the needs of its promotion programmes. Of course we also hope that HKTB has sufficient flexibility in using these resources to achieve the best results.
However, we all have accountability. If a budget is set for a certain programme, HKTB has to adhere appropriately to the budget when using the resources concerned. As the Government has a very good relationship with HKTB, should adjustments be required, I believe the colleagues in charge will work closely with HKTB to meets its needs.
As today is my last time to attend the meeting in the capacity of a Director of Bureau, I would like to take this chance to thank Mr YIU. Over the years, with the concerted efforts Mr YIU and the industry, especially during the difficult times, our tourism industry can develop in a healthy direction and attain good results. Here I must thank Mr YIU and the industry.