Cathay Pacific Airways is playing host to a delegation of 129 ethnic Chinese community leaders who arrive in Hong Kong today for a confidence-building programme dubbed “Seeing is Believing”. The visit is one of the first in a series of initiatives the airline is planning to help restore international travellers` confidence in Hong Kong as a business and leisure destination.
The delegation is made up of community leaders from six major European hubs - Amsterdam, Belgium, Frankfurt, London, Paris, and Rome. The delegates represent various sectors of the overseas ethnic Chinese community ranging from business chambers and travel operators to business people and media representatives. The aim of the three-day visit is to offer a first-hand experience of how things have returned to normal in Hong Kong following the recent SARS outbreak.
With the support of the Hong Kong SAR Government, the Hong Kong Tourism Board and hotel and trade partners, the group will take part in a number of sightseeing activities during their stay. They will also receive briefings from government officials and travel industry representatives.

Cathay Pacific`s General Manager, Corporate Communication Alan Wong said: “We are very pleased with the enthusiastic participation in `Seeing is BelievingÁ? and we warmly welcome our visitors from Europe. We recognise that rebuilding Hong Kong`s travel industry will only happen step by step, and the first of which must be to restore confidence among the travelling public. We believe that visits by community leaders from overseas markets is one of the best ways to help spread the message internationally that Hong Kong is a safe place to visit.”
Mr Wong added: “The support from both the government and travel industry has been crucial to the success of the programme and we are confident that such concerted efforts by the community at large will help bring travellers back to Hong Kong again.”
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