Yeung told the media on Thursday afternoon the new schemes that offer fully guaranteed loans for passenger transport operators and licensed travel agents can provide some 1,600 travel agencies with a credit guarantee of 10 years at the longest.

Depending on the size of the travel agencies, the largest loan amount will range between HK$1 million and HK$5 million.

As for each coach bus, the loan ceiling will be set at HK$100,000, and about 3,000 coach buses are expected to benefit.

The Hong Kong Mortgage Corporation Ltd. will strive to introduce those schemes by April, Yeung added.

According to the Budget speech delivered by financial secretary Paul Chan Mo-po yesterday (Wed), the schemes will involve a total loan guarantee amount of about HK$2.7 billion.

Chan added the government will also extend the Travel Agents Incentive Scheme, due to expire by end-March, for three months; and inject HK$30 million into the Information Technology Development Matching Fund Scheme for Travel Agents to encourage the technological upgrade of the industry.

Yet, Yeung sidestepped the industry's demand for launching a work-resumption fund.

Yeung said the government has spent about HK$4.48 billion supporting the tourism industry over the past three Covid-hit years, and some of the support schemes are ongoing.

Yeung believed more and more tourists were coming to Hong Kong and said the industry has made it through the most challenging times and will revive gradually.

He added the current measures can help alleviate the industry's burden as he noted that authorities have to strike a balance between the needs of different sectors when formulating the budget.