Hong Kong: Hong Kong plans to woo the Indian film industry, especially Bollywood, to use the gleaming metropolis as a location for film shooting in a bid to increase tourist inflow from India, senior officials have said.

"As part of our plans to tap the potentially lucrative outbound tourism market of India, we are planning to woo the Indian movie industry to use Hong Kong as a location for shooting," Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) general manager, corporate communications, Bonnie Ngan said.

"We are ready to extend all help to the Indian movie industry if they decide to shoot in Hong Kong," Ngan said.

Hong Kong itself has a booming film industry and state-of-the-art facilities for moviemaking, she said.

A high-level HKTB delegation is likely to visit India soon and meet people associated with the Indian film industry, tourism officials said.

The 30,000-strong Indian community in Hong Kong could also support Indian filmmakers, the officials said.

India constitutes an important source for foreign tourists into Hong Kong, which is steadily recovering from a dip in the number of tourists in the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist strikes in the US.

The number of Indian visitors to Hong Kong during the first seven months of 2002 totalled 1,07,829 compared to 92,321 during the same period last year, registering a growth of 16.8 per cent.

According to the latest HKTB figures, 16,896 Indians visited Hong Kong in July this year, compared to 13,834 in the corresponding period last year, registering an impressive growth of 22.1 per cent.

Ngan said HKTB and Hong Kong Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) had done promotionals in India for the mega shopping festival which received an enthusiastic response.

"Given the distance, our marketing strategy in India will continue to focus on brand awareness and target the high-yield cruise, business, incentive and leisure sectors," she added.

PTI