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Hong Kong faces at least another six months of 'pain' before tourist numbers begin to pick up to levels seen last year, a senior tourist official has warned.

 Hong Kong Tourist Association deputy executive director Kent Hayden Sadler said there were no quick-fix answers and that Hong Kong needed to start repackaging itself differently.

 'We need to move from a stamp in the passport, trophy-type destination to one which is an experience destination,' he told a Hong Kong Management Association conference yesterday.

 Falling tourism numbers has been exacerbated by the regional currency crisis which has made Hong Kong an expensive destination for many Southeast Asian visitors.

 Association figures show that in August tourist arrivals from Malaysia fell 33 per cent and from Japan 52 per cent compared to the same period last year.

  'One blessing of the current difficulties of the business is that every one now sees the need to invest in tourism,' Mr Hayden Sadler said.

  He predicted a recovery would start in the latter half of next year but that it would be 1999 before the record numbers of 1996 would be beaten.

 Mandarin Oriental Hotel group managing director Robert Riley said there was a need for a 'high-level, blue-ribbon' committee to examine all facets of the industry at a macro level.

 The Government has already set up a tourism taskforce.

 Mr Riley suggested an entirely new committee be established to examine key strategic questions like whether there should be land zones only for hotels or whether the Government should put money into more cultural events and buildings.

 'We need fresh ideas and bold actions,' he said.

  Mr Riley said his group's two hotels in Hong Kong - the Mandarin and the Excelsior - had been shielded from the drop in tourists because it had a largely business-traveller client base.

 'We had a 100 per cent occupancy last night,' he said.

 However, the turmoil on the markets could mean lower occupancy rates in the future.

 If corporate activity in Hong and China was to tail off and fewer bankers were to be flying in from Europe and the United States that could soon feed into the business, he said.

 He dismissed the idea that the level of room rates were playing a major part in putting visitors off.

 'Our rates have increased at 4 per cent a year if compounded over 10 years,' Mr Riley said.

 'We charge an average of $2,300 per room - this compares favourably with prices similar hotels charge in London, Paris or New York.'  The downturn in tourism is, by Cathay Pacific Airways' admission, hurting the airline.

  Deputy managing director Philip Chen Nan-lok said its strategy was to rely on service standards to remain competitive.

 Asked if it would have to cut fares to stimulate traffic, Mr Chen said the market would dictate ticket prices.

 Despite criticism of its low profile, the association's 100 days of Wonders campaign, which ended earlier this month, had been a success, the organisation said.

 Mr Hayden Sadler said it had sold 136,000 packages abroad as part of the promotion which was the equivalent to nearly half a million bed nights.



Official warns industry of a further six months of pain