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Ambrose Li

Countries on the route of China’s Belt and Road Initiative hope to attract more visitors from Hong Kong, exhibitors at a travel trade show in the city have said.
They added that destinations already popular with Hongkongers had come up with new travel routes and attractions to maintain their edge.
Kazakhstan’s Almaty Tourism Bureau said on Thursday that it wanted to boost the number of tourists from Hong Kong and the mainland to the Central Asian country after a visa-free arrangement was set up last November.
“We are advertising a lot on social media,” bureau manager Askhat Zhanbossynov said.
“We are also going to invite bloggers and influencers from Hong Kong to come to our country in August to promote it and we’re also participating in a lot of exhibitions and roadshows in Shanghai and Hong Kong.”
Zhanbossynov said Kazakhstan had seen a steady increase in the number of Chinese visitors for leisure as well as for business, mostly in the agricultural sector.
He added that had been noticed when visas were still needed and he was optimistic that numbers would increase under the new arrangements.
Zhanbossynov said a tour of Almaty, the country’s biggest city, would take two days and cost around US$70 a head, excluding accommodation and flights.
A two-day tour to greater Almaty, including canyons, forests, and lakes, would cost US$100 to US$150 per head including transport, accommodation, meals and entrance fees.
Zhanbossynov was speaking as the 38th International Travel Expo kicked off at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai on Thursday.
The four-day expo has about 500 exhibitors from more than 60 countries and regions, of which 20 are new. The event has also expanded and is taking up five halls instead of the four used last year.
The organisers predicted about 70,000 people would attend, with the first two days of the event reserved for the trade and the last two open to the public.
Kazakhstan and Ethiopia are among a string of countries Beijing has pulled together in the belt and road strategy to boost global trade since 2013.
Ethiopian travel company Covenant Ethiopia Tours said it wanted to expand the market in Hong Kong, and that it planned to speak to agencies at the expo to set up collaborations for bringing the city’s travellers to the East African nation.
“In every corner of the country, you see different tribes, different peoples with different languages,” said Dawit Tesfay, the manager of the company. “You can experience beautiful religious festivals, see archaeological sites, and visit volcanoes.”
He recommended a stay of eight to 14 days to give time to explore and understand the country.

An eight-day tour, including trips to volcanoes and archaeological sites, costs around US$7,000 to US$8,000 for a group of four, as special transport – together with cooks, guides, water and food – will need to be arranged for volcano trips. The price excludes flights.
Some prefectures in Japan are also trying to attract more Hong Kong visitors. A bureau from Tottori, the capital of Japan’s Chugoku region, also took space at the expo in a bid to drum up business.
The Tottori Tourism and Exchange Bureau said there was increased interest in previously less-visited travel destinations.
It added the country was already popular with Hongkongers and the city’s strong spending power, further strengthened by the weak yen, made it even more attractive.
“More tourists have been visiting Tottori since the pandemic,” said Yuki Liu, the Hong Kong representative of the bureau.
“As a tourist visiting large cities such as Tokyo and Osaka, you’ll still see Hongkongers everywhere.
“Those who wish for a more niche experience will then opt for less-known places.”
She said there had been at least a 20 per cent increase in tourists going to Tottori compared with pre-pandemic figures.
Liu added that top visitor attractions such as Kyoto had encouraged other regional governments to do more to attract tourists to ease pressure on them.
She said the Tottori bureau was now encouraging people visiting Osaka for the 2025 World Expo to also go to Tottori, Shimane and Shikoku.
Liu added most visitors would be driving, as transport options were limited and that each person would spend about 100,000 yen (US$638) a day, excluding accommodation and flights.
Taiwan, also popular with Hongkongers, is now capitalising on its natural attractions to pull in tourists and marketing its family friendly ways to visit the cities of Taipei and Kaohsiung before moving on to less well-known spots.
“Since the pandemic, many want to be closer to nature,” a spokeswoman for the Taiwan Visitors Association Hong Kong Office said.
“Taiwan has abundant natural scenery and resources that are beautiful. There are rice fields in Yilan for visits, you could dive in Chiayi, or even go on round the island tours on trains.
“These are very good for family travels. Many parents will take their children to Taiwan and it’s only an hour on the plane to go visit some farms.”
She added that Hong Kong and Macau topped the charts for most visitors to Taiwan last year at close to 1.2 million between them.
Demand for trips to Taiwan has been demonstrated by the addition of new flights between Hong Kong and the island.
Eva Air started two direct flights between Hong Kong and Kaohsiung in April and Starlux will start two direct flights a day between Hong Kong and Taipei next month.
A range of Japanese cities and prefectures, various mainland provinces and cities, South Korea, Poland, Bulgaria, Iran, Cuba, Nepal, Georgia and the Malaysian state of Sabah are among other destinations represented at the expo.


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Kazakhstan and Ethiopia among less well-known tourist destinations represented at Hong Kong’s International Travel Expo


Kazakhstan and Ethiopia among less well-known tourist destinations vying for Hong Kong visitors at International Travel Expo in Wan Chai.
