second quarter of 2008. The successful bidder will need to form the site as well as design, build, and operate the cruise terminal at its own cost. It is expected that the first berth at the Kai Tak Development will be completed in 2012. The Government is also working with the Ocean Park to implement its redevelopment plans which aim to turn the Ocean Park into a world-class marine-themed attraction. Works of the redevelopment will be delivered in phases, new products will be introduced in each phase with the first product being made available by early 2007 and other rides/attractions in phases by 2012/13. The Government is considering the proposal on the development of hotels at the Ocean Park from legal, financial, operational and institutional aspects. The hotel development will further enhance the attractiveness of the Park and induce longer stay.
The promotion of tourism is not simply about construction of new facilities. The Government has not lost sight of the fact that Hong Kong's traditional relics and assets, some of which date back six thousand years, offer visitors a fascinating insight into the region's history. To better explore heritage tourism, the HKTB has enhanced its Cultural Kaleidoscope cultural experience programme with guided tours of Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong Maritime Museum, Chinese cake-making and Chinese medicine classes. It published "Discover Hong Kong by Rail" to promote the attractions, including heritage sites along the KCR East and West Rails. In addition, the HKTB continues to work with trade operators to promote traditional Chinese customs and festivals such as the Tin Hau Festival parade in Yuen Long, Tam Kung Festival in Shaukeiwan, the Cheung Chau Bun Festival and the Birthday of Lord Buddha celebrations at Po Lin Monastery.
The ecological richness and diversity of Hong Kong is also quite unexpected and is another aspect which has not hitherto been fully recognised. The Commission is promoting green tourism in the Northeast New Territories under the principles of nature conservation and sustainable development. The project in the Plover Cove and Tolo Channel area and Tung Ping Chau includes minor enhancement of basic facilities, promotion of an island-hopping sea tour, and complementary conservation and educational initiatives. The HKTB has produced a publication to promote green tourism and it features seven hiking tours, as well as a guidebook on bird watching hot spots in Hong Kong in collaboration with Hong Kong Bird Watching Society. The HKTB has also revamped the green tourism section of its website to make it more comprehensive and user friendly. With the opening of Hong Kong Wetland Park and development of green tourism in Northern New Territories, the HKTB has also launched the Nature Kaleidoscope programme in September 2006 for a 6-month period as pilot scheme for the participation of overseas visitors. The programme includes guided visit to Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden and Hong Kong Wetland Park; morning bird watching activities at Hong Kong Park and Kowloon Park; Eco-tour at Tai O on Lantau Island; Islands hopping tour in Northeast New Territories and guided walk at Wong Nai Chung Gap Trail.
Standards and Performance: Apart from making available a wide range of attractions to enrich the experience of tourists, it is equally important to enhance the standard of service offered. The Travel Agents Ordinance puts in place a licensing scheme to regulate travel agents which carry on the business of providing inbound and outbound travel services. Parallel with this, to ensure the quality service provided to the visitors, the training programme for serving tourist guides with subsidy from the Government has provided training to about 9 100 tourist guides since its commencement in July 2002. Any serving tourist guide who has completed the prescribed training course and passed the required examination will be issued with a "Tourist Guide Pass". They are required to observe the "Code of Conduct for Tourist Guides" issued by the Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong. With effect from July 1, 2004, all travel agents are required to assign only those tourist guides with a valid "Tourist Guide Pass" to receive visitors to Hong Kong. As part of the efforts to help members of the travel agents trade to seek continuous improvement in the area of professional knowledge and skills and the quality of their service, the Government had subsidized the launching of a series of new specialized courses commencing in mid-2006 for members of the travel agents trade. By end November 2006, some 390 members of the travel agents trade have enrolled in the new courses.
The HKTB continues to implement the Quality Tourism Services (QTS) Scheme, which aims to enhance the overall service standards among retailers and restaurants. The Scheme was strengthened in 2006 to include visitor accommodation in the scheme, aiming to provide visitors with better quality assurance and a more comprehensive and effective complaint handling mechanism. By the end of 2006, over 6 300 outlets had received QTS accreditation, an increase of nearly 6 per cent in 12 months, reflecting growing trade and visitor recognition of the scheme's value. The China National Tourism Administration has also expressed its support for QTS.
The promotion of a community-wide hospitality culture is essential to the sustainable development of the tourism industry. The Tourism Commission will continue to run the territory-wide public education campaign entitled "A Hospitable Hong Kong" to promote a hospitality culture. This campaign comprises a series of programmes and activities, including the Hong Kong Young Ambassador Scheme, general publicity scheme, service quality seminars and campaigns. The Service Quality Study, which was completed in 2005, aims to work out with the tourism and related industries and relevant government departments service standards for each sector. It will also exemplify the best practice and service excellence attained and help promote service quality generally.
Accessing Hong Kong: The Government continues to ensure Hong Kong's accessibility. Nationals from some 170 countries can visit Hong Kong visa free for period from seven to 180 days.
As for Mainland visitors, the quota of the Hong Kong Tour Group Scheme of Mainland visitors has been abolished since January 2002. The number of Mainland travel agents authorised to organise such tours has also increased significantly. The Individual Visit Scheme was introduced on July 28, 2003. The Scheme has been gradually extended and now covers Guangdong province, Shanghai, Beijing, Chongqing, Tianjian, Chengdu, Dalian, Shenyang, Jinan, Nanchang, Changsha, Nanning, Haikou, Guiyang, Kunming and nine cities in Fujian, Jiangsu and Zhejiang. Near 17.2 million individual visitors have visited Hong Kong as at December 2006.
Promoting Hong Kong: The HKTB is a statutory body set up to promote Hong Kong globally as a business and leisure destination and take initiatives to enhance the experience of visitors when they arrive. In 2006, the HKTB continues to place special emphasis on attracting more visitors in the high-yield business-cum-leisure and family segments.
Leveraging on the opening of several new attractions from 2005 onwards, the HKTB has designated 2006 as Discover Hong Kong Year. This global marketing campaign makes use of a series of strategic promotions and popular Mega Events to showcase the new image of Hong Kong and promote it as a "must-visit" destination in 2006. The HKTB has already started promotions to the
