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Donald Tsang
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Novel boost for tourism

Donald Tsang

The Hong Kong Tourism Board is making a concerted effort to get cash-rich Indians to visit Hong Kong.

According to Hong Kong Tourism Board statistics, the number of Indian tourists fell by 4.5 per cent in the first half of the year compared with the same time last year. This, according to a Tourism Board spokeswoman, was because visitors from India were more sensitive to price changes, and pricier packages this year. The number of young visitors, however, showed strong growth of 9.5 per cent in the first half of the year.

Tourism officials say that with a greater number of flights between India and Hong Kong, tourism from both sides should increase in the coming year.

Muthu Arunachalam, chairman of the Indian Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, says that the maiden visit to New Delhi by Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen late last year has helped in promoting Hong Kong to Indian tourists.

He says that although there was a slight dip in the earlier months of this year, the total number of visitors from India so far this year has reached 600,000. The Tourism Board has invited well-known Indian author and former Hong Kong resident Chetan Bhagat to shoot a television programme on the city's lesser-known attractions.

Bhagat worked as an investment banker in Hong Kong for 11 years from 1997 before returning to India, where he embarked on a second career as a novelist.

According to news reports, during the production, he will draw on his links with the city and suggest interesting lesser-known tourist spots.

Bhagat also says that Singapore, with its stronger Indian presence, is a more popular destination for his countrymen because they see it as being more Indian friendly. They also like the food there and feel comfortable with the English-speaking community.

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