Expanding HK tourism through high-speed rail
The official inauguration of the Hong Kong section of the GuangzhouShenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link on Sept 23 represents a new chapter for our rail transport that further strengthens Hong Kong’s strategic position as a regional transport hub. Accessibility brings about connectivity. The XRL will strengthen personnel exchanges and economic ties between the Chinese mainland and the SAR and contribute to the continued development of our local industries. At present, there are about 800,000 people crossing the boundary between the mainland and the SAR each day. The authority expects that the XRL will carry a daily average of about 80,000 passengers, accounting for one-tenth of the cross-boundary passenger traffic volume. Many of them frequently travel between the two sides for living, tourism, commercial activities, business startups and schooling.
As the travels between the SAR and the mainland become more frequent, it is the responsibility of the SAR government to ensure the integrity of the transport facilities. Before the commissioning of the XRL, commuters had to first go to Shenzhen North Railway Station or Guangzhou South Railway Station, where they hop on a high-speed train to travel to their destinations. It was both time-consuming and inconvenient. In addition to discouraging travelers, it was also difficult for the elderly or people with disabilities to take the high-speed train. The 26-kilometer Hong Kong section of the XRL, which connects to the 25,000-kilometer high-speed rail network on the mainland, will enrich the travel experience of residents from both sides and attract different types of passengers.
Take the local residents originally from Chaozhou, Shantou and Fujian as an example, who account for more than onefifth of the population in Hong Kong. Many of them came to Hong Kong in the early years and have now become senior citizens who are unwilling to travel long distances or take “user-unfriendly” transport. The XRL train will take less than three hours to go to Chaozhou and Shantou from West Kowloon, four hours to Xiamen and five hours to Fuzhou. The shortened travel time will draw them closer to their native land and make it much more desirable for them to return more frequently to their place of origin. Younger generations are then encouraged to accompany this group of citizens to not only visit their relatives, but also find out the positive changes happening on the mainland. Hence, the industry generally believes that the XRL will significantly promote the number of cross-boundary passengers in the future, which is going to bring more commercial and tourism opportunities for Hong Kong.
As the mainland’s economy continues to grow, we also witness the booming development of second- and third-tier cities. However, the relatively fewer direct flights between these cities and Hong Kong and the costly airfares render this mode of transportation inconvenient and unattractive. The launch of the XRL will open up more transport options to travelers at a reduced cost, which will prompt them to schedule more journeys to Hong Kong. In terms of outbound travel, local travel agencies can devise more sight-seeing tour packages along various XRL routes and explore more tourism opportunities in second- and third-tier cities on the mainland. Strengthening the promotion of these new tour packages will in turn enhance the travel agencies’ competitiveness in the industry. In terms of inbound travel, the XRL can bring in more mainland tourists, particularly those residing in cities within a five-hour travel time to Hong Kong, including Fujian, Hunan, Hubei, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Yunnan and Guizhou. Among the 28.1 million mainland visitors from January to July this year, only about 40 percent of them spent their nights in the city. Establishing direct high-speed rail routes with these cities is expected to attract more overnight visitors, who will be of great benefit to the local tourism sectors such as hotels, retail and catering industries.
Apart from Hong Kong residents and mainland visitors, the XRL can also offer more holiday destinations for overseas tourists. Hong Kong’s limited tourism resources make it unattractive to foreign visitors for a long sojourn. As a result, the number of overseas visitors has remained stagnant in recent years. With the commissioning of the XRL and the launch of the Hong Kong-ZhuhaiMacao Bridge, the tourism industry will have more opportunities to develop “multi-destination” holiday packages traveling between Hong Kong, Macao and the mainland. This will help strengthen Hong Kong’s status as a well-connected transport hub — a reason strong enough for overseas visitors to patronize. In response to the forthcoming era of high-speed rail transport, local travel agencies of various business sizes have all introduced XRL travel tours to seize the opportunities presented by the new train routes. I hope that the government and the MTR Corporation will pay heed to the views and suggestions voiced by the tourism industry, particularly on how to remove constraints on the presale of group tickets and the redemption of physical tickets. This will take into account the operability of travel agencies and provide greater flexibility for industry players to develop and expand XRL-oriented tourism.