High-speed rail just the ticket for Xmas tour groups

A majority of outbound tour groups are opting to travel by high-speed rail to spend the Christmas break this year on the mainland, the Travel Industry Council said on Wednesday. Speaking on RTHK, executive director Fanny Yeung said the number of tour groups heading out of Hong Kong during this holiday break, 1,500, was of a similar level to that of a year ago. The most popular options for holidaymakers are a three- to four-day tour of places like Guilin and Chaoshan. "During every major festival, like Christmas and Easter, many of our tour groups travel by high-speed rail because it costs the same all year round and there is no fuel surcharge or air passenger departure tax," Yeung said. The number of tour groups flying off to many places in Southeast Asia, she pointed out, has dropped by 20 percent, except for Vietnam. Vietnam is an exception because of promotional efforts for destinations such as Da Nang and Phu Quoc, Yeung added. As for inbound travellers, she said, overseas visitors have exceeded the number of mainlanders as Christmas is not a public holiday across the border. Some 4,000 tour groups from the mainland will make it to the SAR this month, she said, about 2,000 fewer than in November due to rises in accommodation fees during the festive period. Even though Hong Kong has cancelled its usual fireworks extravaganza to usher in the coming New Year, Yeung said, there has been no impact so far on the tourism sector. That is because other countdown events are still being held across the city as usual and travellers around the world understand that the cancellation has been made as a mark of respect for the many victims who perished in the Wang Fuk Court inferno that happened in Tai Po last month.