Luxury rail link plea to Beijing

SCMP, May 25, 2001: The tourism chief has put a proposal to Beijing to campaign for a luxury Orient Express service to link the major tourist attractions of the mainland and Hong Kong.

Hong Kong Tourism Board chairwoman Selina Chow Liang Shuk-yee, travelling as part of the Go West delegation, put the plan to China's Railway Minister Fu Zhiyuan during a lunch in Beijing yesterday.

'China has much attractive scenery and of course we have to consider the professional standard of some tourist facilities in China,' Ms Chow said. 'In some areas, like the performance of tourist guides, they are doing quite well and they are professionally trained.'

Mr Fu was asked to put the proposal to establish the train service to Nick Varian, chief executive of Venice Simplon-Orient Express, when he visits Beijing later this month.

Ms Chow said Hong Kong's role as a regional transport centre would also be strengthened if the SAR was chosen as the first or last stop on the route.

Hong Kong's tourism potential would be boosted by taking advantage of Orient Express' brand name, she said. The Orient Express, which once ran a service from London to Istanbul, is renowned for its luxury cabins and service.

She said Orient Express had shown initial interest when she described a preliminary proposal to them earlier.

Chairman of the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation, Yeung Kai-yin, also expressed support for the plan and said it would be mutually beneficial to Hong Kong and the mainland.

Ms Chow said the tourism board had been contemplating the possibility of linking with mainland rail services to promote tourism for some time.

Glossary

proposal (n) a suggestion put forward for consideration

delegation (n) a group chosen to represent others

attractive (adj) appealing to the senses or mind

route (n) way taken to get to a place

renowned (adj) famous

preliminary (adj) occurring before or in preparation of

Discussion points

Do you think a luxury Orient Express would be a successful tourist attraction?

Should Hong Kong and the mainland share more tourist attractions?