Bird flu alert in Hong Kong
HONG KONG, 21 December 2011: Hong Kong raised its bird flu alert level to “serious” on Tuesday and announced it will cull 17,000 chickens after three birds tested positive for the deadly H5N1 strain of the virus.
The city’s health chief York Chow announced the measures after a dead chicken at a wholesale market and two other wild birds tested positive for the deadly H5N1 strain of the disease.
Authorities banned all live poultry imports with immediate effect while they trace the source of the dead chicken, whether it was imported or from local poultry farms. Read more
Hong Kong’s tourist arrivals soar
January 28, 2011 by TTRweekly Staff
Filed under News
HONG KONG, 28 January 2011 — Hong Kong Tourism Board announced, Friday, visitor arrivals reached a record high of 36,030,331, in 2010, representing 21.8% more than in 2009.
The growth was led by various factors, including recovery of the world’s economy, appreciation of most currencies against the Hong Kong dollar, as well as the expansion of the scope of the Individual Visit Scheme for Shenzhen residents by mainland China.
HK fine tunes CNY celebrations
January 12, 2011 by Paphada Apimonton
Filed under Destinations, News, North Asia
HONG KONG, 12 January 2011 – Hong Kong Tourism Board and Cathay Pacific Airways are promoting Chinese New Year celebrations to Thailand’s outbound travel market. The event welcomes the Year of the Rabbit from 28 January to 14 February.
However, the highlighted activities begin on 3 February with the Cathay Pacific International Chinese New Year Night Parade that starts at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Piazza in Tsim Sha Tsui and ends outside the Sheraton Hong Kong Hotel & Towers.
Tour guides under the hammer
January 11, 2011 by Paphada Apimonton
Filed under News
HONG KONG, 11 January 2011 – Hong Kong based tour guides protested, late last week, against a new policy that limits a guide’s employment to just a single tour group for the duration of its stay and outlaws shopping commissions.
The guides claim the new law prevents them from taking on extra jobs or receiving fees from establishments other than from the company that assigned them to lead a group. They estimate it could cut their overall monthly earnings by HK10,000.
About 1,000 tour guides joined the protest against the Travel Industry Council regulation that comes into effect 1 February.
Cathay makes pay offer to pilots
HONG KONG, 21 December 2010 – Cathay Pacific and its pilots union have reached a tentative pay deal, a company spokeswoman said Monday, averting possible labour action over the busy holiday period.
The Hong Kong-based carrier’s pilots must still vote in favour of the deal which union negotiators endorsed after negotiations last week.
“The talks were professional and courteous with some understandable differences in perception but we did get to a point where it was feasible to place an offer on the table,” the company spokeswoman told AFP.
Hong Kong arrivals improve
December 3, 2010 by TTRweekly Staff
Filed under News
HONG KONG, 3 December 2010 – The Hong Kong Tourism Board announced Thursday that visitor arrivals in October reached 3,258,537 representing an increase of 18.0% year-on-year.
Mainland arrivals led the arrivals chart with a significant surge during the National Day Golden Week holidays. In the first 10 months of 2010, visitor arrivals reached 29,434,487, 23.0% more than the same period last year.
Bird flu reported in Hong Kong
HONG KONG, 18 November 2010 – Hong Kong has confirmed its first case of bird flu in humans in seven years, with a 59-year-old woman in a serious condition after a visit to mainland China, health officials told AFP Thursday.
The government has raised Hong Kong’s bird flu alert to “serious”, meaning there is a “high risk” of contracting the potentially fatal disease, a spokesman for the Department of Health told AFP.
Retail sales soars in HK
October 5, 2010 by AFP
Filed under North Asia
HONG KONG, 4 October 4 2010 – Strong domestic consumption and tourist dollars helped push retail sales in Hong Kong almost 17% higher year on year in August, the government said Monday.
Total retail sales for the month hit HK$26.5 billion (US$3.4 billion), the Census and Statistics Department said, up 16.9% year-on-year and marking the 12th consecutive monthly rise.
Hong Kong approves surcharge hikes
September 29, 2010 by TTRweekly Staff
Filed under News
HONG KONG, 29 September 2010 – Cathay Pacific Airways gained approval from Hong Kong’s Civil Aviation Department, last week, to increase passenger fuel surcharge effective early October.
The airline intends to raise its surcharge for short-haul flights to HK$100 from the current HK$97 and hike its surcharge for long-haul flights to HK$506 from the current HK$481, Civil Aviation Department officials reported.
Hong Kong breaks tourism record
September 28, 2010 by Rapeepat Mantanarat
Filed under North Asia
BANGKOK, 28 September 2010 – Hong Kong welcomed 3,455,033 arrivals during August, up 21.9%, and achieved a record 23,447,843 visitors during January to August representing an increase of 24%, the Hong Kong Tourism Board reported Monday.
Thai visitors made 32,066 trips in August, a rise of 23.8% over the same month in 2009 and over the eight-month period trips totalled 292,640 up 20.1%. This placed it in the eighth slot of 10 top suppliers during August in terms of growth rate and the ninth for January to August. However, year-to-date Thai visitors were only 1.2% of Hong Kong’s overall market share.
