Despite a flagging economy, the overall performance of the travel and tourism industry was rather satisfactory during the past few years. Having seen off the Year of the Monkey not long ago, I expect its vitality and vigour to spill over to this year, the Year of the Rooster. The continuing upsurge in visitor arrivals is the best proof of the thriving inbound industry. As for the outbound industry, a record-setting amount of levy was reported for January 2005. If the momentum of this trend continues, it is beyond doubt that 2005 will be a year of bountiful harvests for the whole industry.

Having said the above, I believe some incidents happening at the beginning of the Year of the Rooster should suffice to remind all of us that the travel industry, despite full of promising opportunities, is not without unexpected events, and thus requires caution at all times. The first incident is the closure of Ying Fai Tour Limited on the first day of the Chinese New Year, and the second one is a tour accident in Guilin, China, two days later.

Over 600 travellers were affected by Ying Fai's closure. The TIC and the Travel Agents Registry have assisted most of them in applying for compensation from the Travel Industry Compensation Fund within three working days. It is hoped that 90% of their tour fares will soon be paid to them in compensation.

The Guilin accident not only makes travellers realise the importance of taking out travel insurance, but also prods travel agents into paying particular attention to the safety of outbound tours. According to the statistics of the Immigration Department, Hong Kong people leave the city more than 60 million times a year. Given such a huge departure figure, accidents, though undesirable, may perhaps be hardly avoidable. The TIC has been studying a number of methods to tackle the problem; one such method is to ask for an expansion of the scope of coverage and the amount of financial assistance provided under the Package Tour Accident Contingency Fund Scheme. However, the most important thing is for travellers to purchase travel insurance, and for them and other relevant parties to put safety at the top of their priority list.

Finally, may safety and prosperity be with us throughout the year.

Ronnie Ho
28 February 2005