SCMP, February 13, 2001: Hong Kong's tourism body yesterday made an embarrassing apology over an advertisement in London magazines that promised visitors they could climb the Tsing Ma suspension bridge and eat lunch on the 129th floor of the Peak Tower.
The Hong Kong Tourist Association attributed the blunder to an 'overly creative' copywriter and its London office, which had signed off on a joint HKTA and Cathay Pacific advert that appeared in the February 4 edition of Life, the magazine of the Observer newspaper. 'The advert has been pulled and is being edited because we realise it could be construed as misleading,' said HKTA's public relations manager, Donna Mongan.
The advert, which also appeared in the December issue of Marie Claire magazine, invited visitors to 'eat lunch on the 129th floor of the Peak Tower', make their way 'up the Tsing Ma suspension bridge' and 'admire the view from the top of the Bank of China Building'.
An HKTA visitor information centre yesterday confirmed that while tourists were welcome to cross the bridge, they were not allowed to climb it.
Likewise, visitors are welcome at the Bank of China building, but have to settle for the viewing platform on the 43rd floor, just more than half way up the 70-storey skyscraper.
Dinner reservations on the 129th floor of the Peak Tower may be problematic - the tower has only seven levels.
