Guests express their opinions at the first Hong Kong International Tourism Convention which is held at Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Hong Kong on December 12, 2018. (Xinhua/Wang Shen)

HONG KONG, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- The first Hong Kong International Tourism Convention was held here on Wednesday to tap tourism potential Hong Kong can leverage and new opportunities Hong Kong will embrace.

Under the theme of "Leveraging Belt and Road Initiative and Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area Developing," the convention was jointly organized by the government of China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), the Hong Kong Tourism Board and the Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong.

Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong SAR Wang Zhimin, Commissioner of China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Hong Kong SAR Xie Feng and other guests attended the convention.

Speaking at the convention, Carrie Lam, chief executive of the Hong Kong SAR, said, "I believe that Hong Kong is uniquely positioned to drive tourism opportunities emanating from the Belt and Road Initiative and the Greater Bay Area. And my government is committed to realizing Hong Kong's tourism potential."

Lam emphasized four key strategies for Hong Kong's tourism industry, namely diversifying visitor source markets, offering tourism products with international and local characteristics, promoting smart tourism and enhancing service quality.

Lam also pointed out that new infrastructure projects enhancing connectivity such as the Hong Kong section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link, the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge and the upcoming land control point at Liantang/Heung Yuen Wai can open up new opportunities barely reachable before and provide a solid foundation for Hong Kong to serve as an international gateway of the Greater Bay Area.

Yu Qun, a senior official with China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism, said at the convention that Hong Kong has contributed to the development of national tourism and promoted cooperation on international tourism.

As an important juncture along the routes of the Belt and Road and a central city in the Greater Bay Area, Hong Kong will enhance its integration with countries and regions along the routes of the Belt and Road in culture and tourism, Yu added.

Alexis Tam, secretary for Social Affairs and Culture of China's Macao Special Administrative Region, said as an important hub along the route of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, Macao has devoted itself to the exchanges of economy and trade, culture and tourism between China and Portuguese -speaking countries.

Tam said that Macao will collaborate with Guangdong Province and the Hong Kong SAR so as to forge the Greater Bay Area tourism brand.

Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao will build closer bonds to cultivate the Greater Bay Area to a world-known tourism brand, said Anthony Lau, the executive director of the Hong Kong Tourism Board.

Lau said that cities in the Greater Bay Area could work with each other for a brighter future.