Tourism officials yesterday appealed to the central government to streamline immigration procedures for individual mainland travellers bound for Hong Kong and Macao.

Mainland tourists now have to apply for separate permits for trips to the special administrative regions (SARs).

Such an arrangement is inconvenient for travelers, said Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) chairman James Tien after a meeting with Macao tourism officials and Chief Executive Edmund Ho.

Tourism officials of both cities suggested that mainland authorities issue a single permit for both destinations, said Tien.

Hong Kong Travel Industry Council executive director Joseph Tung expressed his welcome to the proposal, saying that the barrier should be removed.

"Convenience is the one thing that appeals most to tourists," he said.

Tourism officials also deliberated measures to make it easier for Macao residents to visit Hong Kong, Tien said.

At present, Hong Kong identity card holders are not required to fill in immigration cards upon arrival in Macao, but Macao residents are not spared of such a formality.

Tien acknowledged that streamlining immigration procedures involves complex technical problems which have to be tackled by the SAR governments.

Tourism officials also agreed to meet every three months on industry issues such as tourism promotion especially during the Olympic Games next year.

The robust tourism growth in Macao had raised fear that Hong Kong is losing out to its neighbor in the competition.

But Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Frederick Ma gave the Legislative Council economic service panel a note of optimism, pointing out that tourist arrivals for January to September had increased by 7.7 percent over the same period last year.

At the panel meeting, Unionist legislator Chan Yuen-han urged the government to develop more tourist attractions of cultural heritage value.

Meanwhile, Tourism Commissioner Au King-chi told legislators that a cruise development consultative committee would be set up to advise the government on its plan to establish Hong Kong as a regional cruise hub.

She said the committee would include representatives from the HKTB and the travel industry.

The government would make it a priority to liaise with the coastal provinces of the nation for cruise route arrangement.

Also at the meeting, Secretary for Transport and Housing Eva Cheng said the government would unveil its proposal for strengthening cooperation between Hong Kong and Shenzhen airports.

Cheng said the government would consider various options, including the construction of a railway link as put forward by Chief Executive Donald Tsang in his Policy Address.

(HK Edition 10/23/2007 page6)