A raw deal? Most people who live in the English city of Sheffield probably can't wait for their holidays (those who are lucky enough not to be on the dole, that is) so they can escape that depressing industrial wasteland.
But it's amazing what a few rolls of well-distributed celluloid can do. The British are now trying to turn the decaying former citadel of steel into a tourist attraction on the back of the movie The Full Monty.
If you haven't seen it, it is about a motley group of unemployed steelworkers who hit on the idea of earning some money by doing a striptease act at a local working men's club.
Now Full Monty Tours are being organised for parties of at least six people, which promise to include the newsagents where Gerald buys a stack of newspapers, Ruskin Park where he gets a new garden gnome and the Shiregreen Club, used as a stage for the final strip. A strip-off that seems a bit of a rip-off at GBP8 (HK$100) per person.
New office Canada is beefing up its efforts to woo tourists from Hong Kong. Last Saturday it opened a Tourism Commission Office on the 11th floor of One Exchange Square.
Free holiday We haven't seen the last of the cut-price holidays in Asia yet. In fact you'd never get one cheaper than the Showcase Malaysia deal - it is free.
