Jilin steps up efforts to attract HK tourists

Jilin tourism development commission launched a Jilin-Hong Kong tourism exchange week, starting with a winter season tourism presentation in Hong Kong on Oct 18.

Other events of the exchange week include a press conference, match making events and exchange opportunities for the Hong Kong residents.

Deputy director of the commission, Chen Shoujun said that Jilin is a heaven for winter vacationing, offering skiing experiences, hot spring and spectacular rime sceneries during the winter season, and that the province has forged a wide range of winter season tourism products for tourists from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan to enjoy one-stop winter season tourism experience in Northern China.

To offer convenience for tourists from the three places, Jilin issued a string of favorable policies for the forthcoming winter season from November to April.

First, residents from the three places will get 50 percent discount for tickets at scenic areas of 4A and above level;

Second, travel agencies making great contributions to the winter season tourism are set to receive rewards from a dedicated fund.

Third, tourism companies launching chartered routes to Jilin are eligible for a 10,000 yuan encouragement for each flight they arrange.

Fourth, the province promises that an tourism-related complaint will be heard within 24 hours and dealt with within seven working days.

These policies being put into place guarantee a good tourism experience for tourists from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan in the coming winter season.

Jilin has been making continued efforts to capitalize on its rich tourism resources in a bid to realize sustainable economic growth in recent years.

The province has one of the world’s largest powder snow base, state-of-the-art skiing facilities, quality tourism services and strong policy support for the ice and snow industry. It issued a plan for strengthening the industry in 2016 with an aim to build itself into a world-class ice and snow tourism destination in 2020.

Chen said that Hong Kong is a famous tourism destination itself and an international tourism distribution hub with a huge consumption power, and that Jilin should try and learn from Hong Kong’s experience in developing tourism industry.

Chen added that Hong Kong and Macao are important tourism markets for Jilin and because the huge differences in geography and climate, they present great complementarities of tourism resources to Jilin, which provides grounds for long-term partnerships.

At the end of 2014, a direct flight route between Hong Kong and Changchun, capital of Jilin was launched to ease the traffic between Jilin and Hong Kong and Macao.

This year marks the 20^th anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to China, and Chen expressed hope for the two places to cooperate in tourism, expanding markets, developing tourist liners and eventually realizing shared prosperity.

Chen also invited the tourism industry in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan to visit Jilin in December for the endearing winter sceneries and take part in the second China Jilin International Ice and Snow Tourism Industry Expo to discover business opportunities.