Good morning. On behalf of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, I would like to warmly congratulate and welcome guests from overseas and mainland China to attend this forum. The 2007 Tourism Forum is a large-scale activity organized by the tourism industry to celebrate the 10 anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
I am glad to see all of you here, especially friends from the mainland and overseas, taking the time to come to Hong Kong to attend this morning's tourism forum. Our executives and front-line employees come from local and international tourism-related industries, including airlines, hotels, travel agencies, retailers, restaurant operators, government representatives and tourism marketing agencies. The theme of this forum is "quality tourism-your choice", which provides us with a valuable opportunity to share our valuable experience and learn from each other how to further improve the quality of our tourism industry.
Tourism has always been and will continue to be an important part of China's economy. Last year, we received a record of more than 25 million tourists. Together, they have contributed nearly120 billion Hong Kong dollars to the local economy.
In the past few years, the SAR Government has invested about HK$ 30 billion (US$ 3.8 billion) in tourism projects to enrich the experience of tourists. In the future, together with the private sector, we will continue to invest in tourism infrastructure. These include new flagship projects, such as the reconstruction of the new cruise terminal and Ocean Park, which we are very happy to see, and a series of improvement projects in the local area. The total investment far exceeds HK$10 billion.
Hong Kong is a famous shopping and dining paradise. The Quality Tourism Service Scheme implemented by the Hong Kong Tourism Board aims to provide information on shops and restaurants that provide quality services to tourists. In fact, the number of participants in the program has increased from about 1 000 in April 2000 to more than 6,400 stores today. They are easily recognized by the big "Q" in front. Therefore, patronizing the shops with "Q" ensures the quality of service.
To stay ahead in the global competition, we need not only new tourist attractions and effective publicity, but also professional, first-class and value-for-money services. Tourism is a people-oriented industry, and I believe everyone knows it very well. We should not underestimate the importance of word of mouth. We must remain vigilant to maintain the best service quality and protect our consumers' rights and interests. The key is to strengthen tourists' access to information and provide tourists with an effective complaint handling mechanism.
To this end, the Consumer Council of Hong Kong accepts and investigates tourists' complaints and provides tourists with suggestions on wise consumption. Our law enforcement agencies will also take prompt enforcement actions against individual fraud cases. I am glad that Hong Kong enjoys the reputation of providing quality tourism services. According to the tourist satisfaction survey conducted by the Hong Kong Tourism Board in 2006, about 80% of tourists think that the hospitality and service of front-line employees in the retail industry in Hong Kong are above average.
This forum provides an international platform for people in the industry to exchange views on quality tourism and services that affect the development of tourism in the region. In addition to the anticipated keynote speech by Chairman Shao, the forum will also discuss two key areas, including infrastructure and software development to support quality tourism, and case studies on the quality of outbound tourism services in the Mainland. Our outstanding speakers from this region have provided high-quality opinions. I believe that this exchange of ideas and experiences will further deepen our understanding of the problems and challenges we face and the actions we need to take to improve the travel experience of tourists.
I wish all the participants an exciting and beneficial experience this morning. Ladies and gentlemen, I wish you a happy and fruitful stay in Hong Kong. Be sure to leave a dent in your credit card. Our economy will thank you.
Thank you very much.