To promote local heritage tourism for the benefit of both the public and overseas tourists, the Commissioner for Heritage's Office of the Development Bureau has organised a roving exhibition, "Hong Kong Heritage Tourism Expo - Access Heritage", to be shown at the Hong Kong Heritage Discovery Centre (HDC) and various locations in Hong Kong starting today (December 4)
The Secretary for Development, Mrs Carrie Lam, and the Chairman of Hong Kong Tourism Board, Mr James Tien, officiated at an opening ceremony for the exhibition this morning.
"Public awareness and participation in heritage conservation has been increasing. The Government will focus on promoting heritage conservation on a district-led basis by linking up heritage 'spots'. This approach echoes the concept of 'spot, line and area' in heritage conservation," Mrs Lam said.
"As one of the four pillars of Hong Kong's economy, tourism helps create employment opportunities and enhance economic development. In recent years, tourists from all around the world have been developing greater interest in the history, culture and historic structures of the destinations they visit. We believe that by linking up monuments and historic buildings with the local culture and the local environment, we can enrich Hong Kong's tourism resource, thus promoting employment and enhancing economic development," she said.
Admission to the exhibition is free. Apart from showcasing uniquely crafted and exquisitely designed models of monuments and historic buildings, the exhibition also introduces six specially designed heritage tour routes that have been devised with a traditional and cultural flavour. The six routes are: "A Journey to the Centre of Law and Order", "A Glimpse into the Lives of Early Chinese", "Into a Big Cultural Melting Pot", "A Journey Beyond the Ordinary", "A Scary Journey!" and "Memorabilia for the Movie Buff". A booklet introducing the six routes, "Notes of a Heritage Visitor", is produced and distributed to visitors free-of-charge during the roving exhibition period.
The roving exhibition is on display at HDC from today to February 28, 2011. It will then move to Hong Kong International Airport, Sha Tin Town Hall, Tuen Mun Town Hall, Times Square, International Finance Centre, and other Government facilities and private malls. The roving exhibition will last for about 10 months.
Also held today was "People and Places: Symposium on the Conservation of Heritage Places for Communities and Tourism", jointly organised by the Commissioner for Heritage's Office, the Antiquities and Monuments Office and the Architectural Conservation Programme of the Faculty of Architecture, University of Hong Kong. At the symposium, academics and conservation professionals from Australia, Malaysia and Macau shared their experience with local academics and professionals on the topic of heritage conservation for communities and tourism.
Information about the exhibition is available on the Development Bureau's heritage conservation website (www.heritage.gov.hk/).
Ends/Saturday, December 4, 2010
Issued at HKT 13:24
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