Better Ticketing Needed for Cultural Tourists

Source: SCMP

Hong Kong Government efforts to promote cultural tourism to pave the way for the West Kowloon Cultural District have been welcomed by the travel industry - but there are concerns about t

he ticketing system and the localised nature of many of the shows.

In the first part of a pilot scheme, travel industry professionals were treated to 13 shows by government-supported performing groups.

The Tourism Commission said the aim was to give the industry - especially "front-line ambassadors" in hotels and travel agencies - a better idea of what the local arts scene had to offer.

A spokesman said the performances were held at five venues before a total of 335 members of the Travel Industry Council, the Hotel Association, the Association of Registered Tour Co-ordinators and the Tourism Board.

The commission said the response had been encouraging, with more than 80 per cent of participants saying they would recommend the arts programme to visitors.

The spokesman said the government was considering expanding the scheme.

Travel Industry Council executive director Joseph Tung Yao-chung said the tourism industry was positive about the trial, which ran from November to March, but the ticketing system was a concern, especially for travel agencies.

He said some agencies had been trying to include cultural programmes in their itineraries, but needed more flexibility in booking tickets.

"If an agency pre-books 30 tickets but only 20 people attend the show, can some arrangement be made so that the agency won't lose too much money?" he asked.

Hotels Association executive director James Lu said the initiative would help build the city's cultural image ahead of the opening of the West Kowloon Cultural District.

But he said the local cultural scene had a lot of maturing to do before it was ready for cultural tourism.

"Some of the content of the shows is too localised and for some performances, like Cantonese opera, there is a language barrier for foreign tourists," Mr Lu said.

He said hotel staff received many inquiries about shows, but tourists were put off by the fact they could only book during their visit.

He said that in places such as London they could do so three months in advance.

Performance groups, meanwhile, have been surprised at how little the travel industry knew about their efforts and agreed more ticketing flexibility was needed.

Clifton Ko Chi-sum, chief executive and producer of Spring Time Productions, said logistics issues such as ticketing should be solved before taking another step.

"In most cases we are allowed to sell tickets through Urbtix four to six weeks before a show kicks off, even though we have shows planned a year in advance," he said.

The Leisure and Cultural Services Department said the ticket sale period for Urbtix was one to two months, but for major events such as arts festivals, booking could be made as much as six months ahead.

Presenters with special needs could contact the department.

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Editor: Jessie Hwang