The head of the Travel Industry Council has expressed mixed views towards inbound and outbound tourism for the upcoming Lunar New Year break. Tommy Tam, who was elected as the council’s new chairman last month, described the prospects of inbound tourism as "good". He said Hong Kong can expect an influx of individual mainland visitors and travellers from Southeast Asian countries during the holiday, courtesy of the high-speed rail link and short-haul flights. "I'm confident it will be better than before," he said. But Tam is less upbeat with outbound tourism. He said some Hong Kong people may not be able to book high-speed train tickets due to the Spring Festival rush on the mainland, contributing to a drop in outbound tour groups. Tam also said some may have trouble securing flights. “The long-haul flight resumption is still under progress, so if there are not sufficient long-haul flights, this may cause high fares and the limited seats supply.” Overall, the council expressed confidence in the tourism sector in the coming year, saying that the industry will have more opportunities, such as mega events and large-scale sports activities held in the SAR. It said it will continue to attract more new blood to the trade, especially young people, in order to reach the goal of having 210,000 workers in five years’ time.
