The Travel Industry Council will undergo an independent audit for the first time, in a bid to stem doubts about its efficiency and operation.
Clearer guidelines are also being developed - with help from the Independent Commission Against Corruption - on how the council elects its directors and officials, according to a government review of the body.
But the improvements do not address criticism of the council's self-regulatory nature, which the government considers key to the industry's effective regulation.
Critics have long argued that the council's self-regulation and apparent lack of independent oversight contribute to its inefficiency. Membership is the primary way of regulating the industry, since travel agents must be licensed by the council to operate. Shops doing tour group business must also be registered.
In a Legislative Council paper outlining the review findings, the government said that while there was room for improvement, it was unnecessary to replace the industry regulator or set up a new body.
'The TIC in its present form - a trade body with regulatory functions - is best placed to foster trade development on the one hand and regulate the ever-changing trade practices on the other, as it can combine trade knowledge with swiftness in formulating codes of practice and directives,' the Legco paper said.
Over the years, the trade body has changed its operation a number of times to deflect criticism of how it monitors and regulates the industry. Since its inception in 1978, it has increased the number of independent directors from two to 12. The body consists of 28 directors plus a chairman from the trade - currently Michael Wu Siu-ieng, managing director of Gray Line Tours of Hong Kong. Both trade and non-trade members are represented on the body's 17 committees, although every appeal board meeting must have two trade and three independent members, who are government-appointed.