Travel agencies are aware of these challenges, and are prepared to face them.

'It has become increasingly difficult to maintain Hong Kong as a first stop [en route to the mainland] because many international flights now fly directly to major cities in mainland China. Macau's growth over the next five years will also shift tourism receipts,' said Mr Bhatnagar.

Concorde Air-Sea Services provides a range of travel services, including student travel, ecotourism, meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (Mice), festival tours and guided tours.

'We cater to individual clients' needs as and when they require them. Hong Kong today is the powerhouse of the Asian region, taking in close to 12 million foreign tourists a year, excluding the mainland visitors. It offers something to meet everyone's tastes,' Mr Bhatnagar said.

With this in mind, the Hong Kong tourism industry's focus on high-yield visitor segments resulted in a 30 per cent increase in Mice arrivals last year compared with 2004, and overall visitor arrivals to Hong Kong last year increased by 8.1 per cent to exceed 25 million but fell short of the estimated 27 million. The Hong Kong Tourism Board continues to target markets and segments with the highest potential to boost the contribution made by tourism to the overall economy.

More than half of the visitors from the mainland were fully independent travellers (FITs) with their own itineraries that totalled more than 13million.

Eva Lai Chau-sim, senior manager of destinations and events management for Swire Travel, said: 'There are more high-yielding visitors with reasonable spending power on accommodation, dining and tours.'

'With the newly opened AsiaWorld-Expo, expansion of the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, the planning of a cruise terminal at the former Kai Tak airport, Disneyland, and Ngong Ping 360 Skyrail, the growth of inbound tourism business is positive without any doubts,' Ms Lai added.

Mr Bhatnagar said he believed that Mice events could bring in huge revenue. The need for proper organisation is crucial to facilitate such large events.

For example, accommodation, meeting and conference venues, entertainment and dining and other ancillary activities need to be carefully managed.

For this reason, there are plenty of employment opportunities, but the staff have to be carefully trained and sensitive to clients' needs and expectations.

'To fit into the inbound tourism industry and thrive in the business, one has to be passionate about travel and tourism,' Mr Bhatnagar said.

'You can start anywhere. I started out as a messenger working in a travel agency collecting and delivering tickets, passports and visas.

'But I worked my way up the career ladder.'

He added that qualifications in the related tour business and knowledge of other languages would boost career prospects in the travel industry.

Ms Lai said there was a significant shortage of experienced and qualified individuals in the trade.'The government and our educational department should have a long-term plan for a special curriculum to maintain manpower in the industry.

'In order to join this trade, we in the travel industry should push up the image of Hong Kong's local guides - they are Hong Kong's ambassadors,' Ms Lai said.

Frontline staff often represent the image of a city, and tourists judge a place by its people.

It is crucial that they are able to communicate well.

As the tourist industry continues to expand, several employment opportunities in related services such as the food and retail sectors have also increased.

'I can see that university graduates would prefer to work indoors, enjoying an air-conditioned working environment rather than being a tour guide with unstable, long working hours and [possibly having to work on] weekends and holidays as well,' Ms Lai said.

'But tour guides are necessary for the future development of our industry.'

Tour guides play a pivotal role in Hong Kong's tourism industry.

A tour guide is assigned by a travel agent to receive and take care of travellers visiting Hong Kong.

With a view to improving the service quality of tour guides, the Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong set up a Tourist Guide Accreditation System in July 2004, under which all tourist guides assigned by member agents to receive visitors to Hong Kong are required to have a valid Tourist Guide Pass issued by the Travel Industry Council.

The Tourist Guide Pass is valid for three years and the fee is HK$300.

Mr Bhatnagar said: 'Inbound travel agents should have an open-minded attitude and be fast and innovative thinkers. Our business is constantly changing and evolving, so one must be willing to learn. People with a know-it-all attitude will hardly survive in this business,'

KEY PLAYERS

Tour guide

Tour leader

Travel agency manager

Ticketing and reservation agent

Tour coach driver

JARGON

Incoming or inbound tourism refers to visitors from other countries coming to Hong Kong

Outbound tourism refers to Hong Kong residents travelling abroad, usually in organised tours arranged by local travel agencies

Ecotourism refers to tours to natural areas that conserve the environment and heritage of local people

Mice meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions

FIT fully independent travellers who follow their own itinerary

GIT group independent travellers who follow their own itinerary in a group but without a tour guide