Rise in online travel booking offers hope

The Hong Kong Tourism Board is pinning its hopes on the Internet after a study by an international tourism body showed one in every four travel purchases would be made online within the next five years.

The growth in online travel sales has been so rapid that it could represent nearly half of all e-commerce within the next two to three years, according to the study, released by the World Tourism Organisation last month.

Hong Kong Tourism Board assistant manager Simon Clennell said the Internet could target consumers who otherwise might not be reached. 'It takes Hong Kong straight into people's homes. It also gives us coverage in markets that would otherwise be too small for other types of marketing,' he said.

According to the international market survey, 67 per cent of travellers from the United States chose the Internet as their main source of information when planning an overseas holiday.

About 45 per cent of Australian tourists and about a quarter of travellers from England, South Korea and Singapore said the Internet was their favoured channel for information on airlines, accommodation and scenic spots. Eleven per cent of mainland Chinese gave the same answer.

World Tourism Organisation chief executive officer Jos Antonio Ferreiro said North America's predominance in the number of Internet users could be surpassed by the Asia-Pacific region by 2003.