[13 Dec 2006] Press Release :

The Association of National Tourist Office Representatives in HK Celebrated its Establishment
(13 Dec 2006)

The Association of National Tourist Office Representatives in Hong Kong (ANTOR(HK)) held its launch party at the Hong Kong Bankers Club today, celebrating its establishment with over 100 guests from the Hong Kong travel industry and media. A number of distinguished guests, including, Mr. Ronnie Ho, Chairman of Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong (TIC(HK)), Ms. Gianna Wong, Deputy Chairman of TIC(HK), Mrs. Grace Lee, Deputy Executive Director of Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB), Mr. Francis Bagaman, Chairman of Society of IATA Passenger Agents Ltd., Mr. Gilbert Chow, Deputy Chairman of Board of Airline Representatives, Ms. Christina Chong, Senior Administrative Officer of Tourism Commission, and Mr. Tommy Tam, Honorary Secretary and Treasurer of Hong Kong Association of Travel Agents Limited, participated to congratulate the association on its launch.

ANTOR(HK) was established on 1 July this year. It is a voluntary, non-profitable and non-political association, comprising local representatives of tourist organizations from 17 national or special administrative regions, which include Australia, Britain, Finland, France, Germany, Guam, Hong Kong SAR, Indonesia, Korea, Macau SAR, Malaysia, Maldives, New Zealand, Singapore, Switzerland, the Philippines and Thailand as its founding members.

During the party, Ms. Casey Liu, Chairlady of ANTOR(HK) thanked all the guests for sharing the joy with the association members. She said the association would strive to provide a convenient platform for members to share views on HK outbound tourism, especially on promotional and operational issues. As a result of effective communications and mutual support, it is hoped that outbound destination marketing in Hong Kong could be enhanced. After the speech, Ms. Liu was joined by the other 16 ANTOR(HK) members for a flag ceremony, signifying the launch of ANTOR(HK).
According to the statistics released by HKTB, Hong Kong residents are keen travelers. In year 2005, the departure figure was approximately 72.3 million, a 4.9% year-on-year growth; and for the first ten months this year, the outbound tourism outperforms the same period of last year by a 4.7% increase, reporting a number of 62.8 million. The establishment of ANTOR(HK) is dedicated to further boost these figures.

According to its By-Laws, ANTOR(HK) membership is confined to those Hong Kong representation offices of tourist organizations set up by national governments or special administrative regions. To ensure the smooth operation of the association, office bearers would be elected each year.
ANTOR(HK) website: www.antor.org.hk
Media Inquiry: Ms. Candy Chan (Tel: 28388680; email: enquiry@antor.org.hk)