Hong Kong Tourism Board launches Global Advertising Campaign

Visitors to Hong Kong and local residents today witnessed the Hong Kong premiere of a new television commercial starring Hong Kong Tourism Ambassador, Jackie Chan.

The television commercial is part of the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB)'s new global advertising campaign entitled "Hong Kong - Live it, Love it!" that showcases the city's diversified, exciting and multi-dimensional experiences. Featuring television, radio, print, on-line and outdoor advertising worldwide, the campaign is designed for sustaining the tourism revival momentum, thereby strengthening Hong Kong's position as one the world's most popular destinations.

At the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, the Chief Secretary of the Hong Kong SAR, The Hon Donald Tsang, GBM, JP; HKTB Chairman, The Hon Mrs Selina Chow, GBS, OBE, JP and Jackie Chan performed the ceremony to launch the new integrated advertising campaign that carries the theme line "Hong Kong - Live it, Love it!". "Live it" is an invitation to visitors to experience Hong Kong to the fullest, and "Love it" means that visitors will fall in love with the destination, as so many do.

HKTB Chairman The Hon Mrs Selina Chow said that after 12 weeks of consolidated efforts by the Government, the local and overseas travel trade and the community at large, the tourism industry had staged a recovery that had surpassed the most optimistic expectations. "The provisional arrival figures for August show that Hong Kong welcomed an astonishing 1.64 million visitors during the month, which represents a return to positive year-on-year growth of about 9.6 per cent.

"We are very delighted with both the customer and trade response to the first phase of our global tourism revival campaign - the Hong Kong Welcomes You! promotion - which has helped lure back early arrivals with irresistible travel offers, special attractions and privileges. To ensure that the recovery can be sustained and to reinforce Hong Kong's long-term image as the most preferred Asian destination, we are now launching the new global advertising campaign building on the marketing theme: "Hong Kong - Live it, Love it!","Mrs Chow explained.

With the launch of the "Hong Kong - Live it, Love it!" campaign, the HKTB moves into the second phase of its Global Tourism Revival Campaign that aims at achieving a sustained revival by creating non-stop excitement for visitors and providing a solid platform for the travel trade to package and promote Hong Kong.

The "Hong Kong - Live it, Love it!" campaign is an integrated advertising campaign. Following the Hong Kong premiere today, the HKTB will roll out the campaign worldwide, spearheaded by visits to New York and San Francisco in the United States by the Chief Secretary, The Hon Donald Tsang and the HKTB Chairman.

Over the coming weeks, the HKTB will screen the commercial in various key source markets including the United States, UK, Australia, Canada, Mainland China, Taiwan, India, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Singapore, Japan and Korea to achieve sustained publicity for Hong Kong. The television commercial will be supported by integrated consumer marketing programmes in major markets, PR promotions, a series of roadshows and trade activities in key cities.

The television commercial starring Jackie Chan takes an emotional approach and focuses on visitors' interaction with the community. Featuring the vibrant and sensational lifestyle in the city, the commercial begins with the sun rising over the spectacular skyline and people preparing for a brand new day. As the commercial progresses, visitors are seen interacting with local residents in a warm and friendly manner at various Hong Kong attractions and experiencing the distinctive local lifestyle.

Jackie plays host in the television commercial and invites visitors worldwide to come to Hong Kong to enjoy the unique and memorable experiences the city has to offer - to sense its energy and vitality, to feel the warmth and hospitality of its people, to see the diversity of its attractions and cultures, to taste the wide array of its international and Chinese cuisines, to get the joy and satisfaction from its amazing shopping, and to live life to the fullest, all of which will make visitors fall in love with the city.

Following the Hong Kong premiere, the two-minute television commercial was projected onto the world's largest stratosphere during the grand finale performances of Strato-Fantasia at 7:30 pm and 8:30 pm. The performances also featured specially enhanced pyrotechnic effects and two Saxon wheels of six metres in diameter, which made the finale of Strato-Fantasia truly spectacular and unforgettable.

To encourage the whole Hong Kong community to embrace and live up to the message in the new campaign, the HKTB has specially arranged the full two-minute version of the television commercial to be broadcast on six Hong Kong television channels later the same evening between 9:00 pm and 10:00 pm. Starting from 16 September onwards, a shortened, 60-second version will also be broadcast on local television to rally the community's support for the tourism industry and their participation in offering world-class hospitality and quality services to visitors.