People must be more welcoming to tourists if Hong Kong is to become a first-class international destination, members of a tourism advisory panel agreed yesterday.
Tourism Commissioner Mike Rowse urged the community to be good hosts, saying: 'It is not just the people directly in the industry - it's the whole of Hong Kong.
'Do we make our visitors feel welcome?' he asked.
A member of the Tourism Strategy Group, Ambrose Cheung Wing-sum, said: 'We can't succeed unless people change their attitude. At the moment, they are not helpful to visitors.' Mr Cheung said a consensus had been reached at the meeting that the success of New York, London and Paris in attracting tourists must be studied.
'Nice people can be an attraction,' Mr Cheung said.
Co-operation between the Government and the private sector was discussed at the meeting.