The Government today announced the launch of a three-year Cultural & Heritage Sites Local Tour Incentive Scheme that enables eligible travel agents to receive cash incentives for promoting cultural and heritage-related tourism.

The scheme aims to incentivise the travel trade to develop more tourism products with cultural and heritage tourism elements, thereby echoing the guiding directions of the Culture & Tourism Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

In addition to promoting local tourim, the Government emphasised that such a strategy will prepare Hong Kong for the return of visitors.

Under the scheme, there are basic and advanced versions of cash incentives.

For the basic version, each eligible travel agent may apply for the cash incentives that amount to $200 for each participant of a cultural and heritage sites local tour that they serve, and the quota for applying for the cash incentives is 1,000 participants.

The itinerary must be received by licensed tourist guides or tour escorts and cover at least two cultural and heritage sites recognised under the scheme. The applicants also have to meet certain requirements on transportation, meal and insurance arrangements.

Regarding the advanced version, each eligible travel agent may apply for cash incentives that amount to $400 for each participant of a cultural and heritage sites local tour that they serve, and the quota for applying for the cash incentives is 200 participants.

Apart from meeting the scheme's requirements on transportation as well as meal and insurance arrangements, the relevant itinerary must also cover at least one cultural and heritage site and one tourist experience activity comprising local cultural and heritage elements recognised under the scheme.

Tour participants must also be received by licensed tourist guides or tour escorts who have completed cultural and heritage training courses recognised by the scheme.

The application period of the first phase of the scheme runs from today until November 30, 2023. 

To complement the application criteria of the advanced version of cash incentives, the Travel Industry Council, as the implementation agent of the scheme, will collaborate with the Tourism Board to organise free docent training courses for licensed tourist guides and tour escorts, so as to further enhance the service quality of practitioners of the tourism industry.

The Government has earmarked a total financial commitment of $600 million for the scheme in the 2022-23 Budget. 

Click here for application details.