No plan to cancel November campaign: Tourism Board

No plan to cancel November campaign: Tourism Board

The Tourism Board has played down fears that the month-long culinary campaign scheduled for next month could be cancelled because of ongoing protests.



The board has already scrapped the annual Wine and Dine Festival and the Cyclothon.



But it said the "Great November Feast" that feature more than 600 restaurants will go ahead as planned despite the ongoing protests.



The mass protests against the government that started in June has disrupted commercial activities in several areas and eateries have been hit the hardest, according to trade experts.



The continuing protests have also seen a massive drop in tourist arrivals and the Chief Executive Carrie Lam said earlier in the day that the visitor arrival number suffered a year-on-year drop of 50 percent in the first half of October.



But the board has jacked up the budget for the food festival generously to almost HK$6.5 million this year. The board's general manager, Mason Hung, said the scale of this year's event will be much bigger when compared to that of last year.



Hung said the drop in tourist arrivals will be an issue, but the event aims to attract those who have already arrived and those who plan to be here.



He also said the preparations for the New Year's Eve Countdown and New Year floats are currently underway and there are no plans to cancel the events.