The Hong Kong Tourist Association should change its name, adopt a more strategic role and phase out its membership system, a review into the 42-year-old quasi-government body has recommended. The review also suggested the introduction of a compulsory accreditation mechanism for incoming tour guides and more flexible funding sources for the association such as owning or managing tourists spots. Consultants Coopers and Lybrand, now known as PricewaterhouseCoopers, were appointed in June 1997 to undertake a $4.5 million review of the association and recommend improvements. New names recommended are Hong Kong Tourism Council, Hong Kong Tourism Board or the Hong Kong Tourism Authority, the last of which is preferred by the association's board of management. The association has more than 1,500 tourism-related enterprises or companies as members. It is understood the association is planning to introduce a new accreditation scheme with tougher criteria for tourism industries. The scheme will cater for hotels, restaurants and other tourism industries if membership is scrapped. The report also recommended the association's board of management be expanded from 11 seats to 20 by including representatives from other sectors like culture, sports, banking and developers. Economic services officials and the association are studying the recommendations.