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With WHO's travel advisory against Hong Kong lifted, concerted efforts to reassure international visitors and businesses that Hong Kong is a safe place to travel and invest and to encourage spending to boost local economy has been launched in Hong Kong and in Canada.
According to a government press release Tuesday, the campaign involves, among other promotional activities, an international advertising blitz, a global tourism drive, international conventions, major sports and cultural events with world renowned personalities.
They also include overseas visits by Hong Kong's senior and medical officials to promote the city and to meet their medical counterparts around the world.
This was stated by the Rosanna Ure, director of HK Economics and Trade Office (Canada) (HKETO) when she updated the media of Hong Kong's latest SARS situation and plans to relaunch Hong Kong in Toronto, Canada.
Also attending Tuesday's press conference were Director of Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) Aliana Ho; Director of Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) Andrew Yui and President of the Hong Kong-Canada Business Association (HKCBA) (Toronto) Dorothy Jean Mar.
Ure said, in view of the local sentiment as a result of the recurrence of SARS cases in Toronto, the HKETO, HKTB, HKTDC and HKCBA would support the relaunch program initiated by the Economic Relaunch Strategy Group chaired by the Hong Kong's Financial Secretary Antony Leung and take a measured pace in organizing their activities in major Canadian cities to rebuild Canadians' confidence in Hong Kong.
The HKETO was closely coordinating with HKTB and HKTDC to support their efforts to revitalize Canadians' interests in travels to Hong Kong and doing businesses in Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta Region, Ure said.
She said a film festival will be staged in Toronto at the end of June and in Vancouver at the end of July as the first major event to relaunch Hong Kong. It will also mark the sixth anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR).
Other promotional activities under active planning include a Hong Kong Expo in Quebec City in August, a major promotion in Ottawa in September and a major Hong Kong exhibition in Montreal in October.
A series of Hong Kong-Canada business promotion activities will also be held in Toronto and Vancouver in November and December.
In addition, the HKETO will be supporting a series of major trade fairs to be organized by the HKTDC from June to November with a view to encouraging more Canadian buyers to visit and do business with Hong Kong.
These include "The Hong Kong Fashion Week," "Hong Kong Watch and Clock Fair" and "Hong Kong International Film TV Market."
The Hong Kong Tourism Board will also be organizing in Canada in the next few months a series of travel trade road shows and consumer promotions as well as familiarization visits to Hong Kong by travel-trade media.
(Xinhua News Agency May 27, 2003)
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