Hong Kong & Macao:
The twin destinations never stand still
So, have you been to Hong Kong or Macao recently? There’s a decent chance the answer’s yes. In tourism terms, things have rarely been so busy for the pair.
Research by Euromonitor in 2017 saw Hong Kong named as the most visited city in the world, while figures from the same year show visitor arrivals into neighbouring Macao grew more than 5% to some 32.6 million.
For Brits, it’s a part of the world that’s increasingly simple to reach. “We now have 70 direct flights a week from Heathrow, Gatwick and Manchester with Cathay Pacific, BA and Virgin Atlantic,” says Dawn Page, Director UK and Northern Europe, Hong Kong Tourism Board. “Hong Kong has firmly solidified its place as a must-visit destination for many British travellers.”
It’s not just the tourist board that’s reporting good health. “We are seeing an increase in travel to Hong Kong on the back of an increase in tours to China,” says Paul Ingram, Product and Category Manager for escorted touring at Kuoni. “Many people are choosing to extend in the city before coming home. It’s always a good time to visit Hong Kong. Any time of day or night, it’s buzzing. I think what makes it special is the fast pace of the city – it’s crowded and noisy, but small enough to explore and not feel overwhelmed.”
The same could be said about the dimensions of Macao, which is marketing 2018 as the Macao Year of Gastronomy.
It’s somewhere that’s serious about working with agents, too. “We’ll continue to support the travel trade with fam trips, promotions and events,” says Lesley Wright, Sales and Marketing Director of the Macao Government Tourism Office. “We’ll also be updating our Macao Specialist online training programme, macaospecialist.co.uk, to help agents learn more about the destination.”
Accommodation
In Hong Kong, The Murray Hotel (marcopolohotels.com) opened in January with 336 rooms and suites and a rooftop-bar restaurant. The luxury property occupies an existing building in the Central Business District and has been redesigned by Sir Norman Foster.
Later this year, the 43-floor, 413-room Rosewood Hong Kong (rosewoodhotels.com) is due to open in September on the harbourfront.
The same month will see the introduction of Hotel VIC (hotelvic.com) to Hong Kong Island’s North Point area.
Its 671 rooms are being billed as ‘affordable luxury’.
St Regis (starwoodhotels.com) is set to open its first property in Hong Kong in 2019.
Over in Macao, the 1,400-room
MGM Cotai (mgm.mo) opened in February this year, with headline-grabbing features including a cutting-edge spa and a football-pitch-sized atrium full of sensory digital art.
Two other major openings are scheduled for 2018. The first is the 39-storey, 780room Morpheus, a figure-of-eight shaped structure designed by the late Zaha Hadid and forming the fifth tower of the City Of Dreams Macau complex (cityofdreamsmacau.com).
The second is the Grand Lisboa Palace Resort (sjmholdings.com), featuring three upscale hotels: the Grand Lisboa Palace Hotel (approximately 1,400 rooms), the Palazzo Versace Macau (approximately 290 rooms) and the Karl Lagerfeld Hotel (approximately 290 rooms).
Food & drink
In November 2017, UNESCO designated Macao a Creative City of Gastronomy in recognition of the role that cuisine has played in shaping the city’s east-meets-west character.
“Escape Macao’s urban areas and travel south to see the countryside and beaches. This region also has plenty of shopping, including markets and a designer mall”
Rebecca Turner, Senior Product Manager Asia and Australia, Gold Medal
“We take travel agent training seriously; since the launch of our Hong Kong Specialist Club (specialist hk.com) in 2017, 256 agents have registered for the programme”
Dawn Page, Director UK and Northern Europe, Hong Kong Tourism Board
And the Macao government subsequently launched the 2018 Macao Year of Gastronomy, with new culinary walking routes, promotions and foodie experiences all on offer.
November also saw the release of the latest Michelin Guide to Hong Kong and Macau, with 92 restaurants earning stars.
Attractions
Two of Hong Kong’s most iconic attractions are marking milestone anniversaries in 2018. The Peak Tram (thepeak.com.hk) has carried millions of people up Victoria Peak since opening in May 1888, 130 years ago, while the similarly popular Star Ferry service (starferry. com.hk) across the harbour turns 120 this year.
Access
Since Cathay Pacific (cathaypacific.com) increased its Manchester-Hong Kong services from five-times-weekly to daily in December, the number of direct flights between the UK and Hong Kong currently stands at 70 per week.
This may rise further – it’s been reported that locally based carrier Hong Kong Airlines (hongkongairlines.com) is to introduce non-stop services to London by the end of 2018.
Cathay Pacific will also begin a fourtimes-weekly service between Dublin and Hong Kong from June 2018.
The inauguration of the multibillion-dollar Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge will also take place this year, creating a road link across the Pearl River Estuary and providing direct vehicle access between Hong Kong and Macao.
Arts, culture & events
One of Hong Kong’s former police stations will open in late 2018 as a large-scale dining, entertainment and arts hub. Tai Kwun (taikwun. hk) is being described as ‘Hong Kong’s centre for heritage and arts’, with 16 historical buildings currently being adapted for public use.
The Hong Kong Heritage Museum (heritagemuseum.gov.hk) has a major exhibition on the Kung-Fu icon Bruce Lee, running until June 2018.
The Macao Museum of Art will feature works by celebrated French artist Marc Chagall from June to August 2018 (mam.gov.mo).
Shopping
Hong Kong’s malls are scaling down their luxury offering, according to a Bloomberg report in late 2017. This has been put down to the changing buying habits of Chinese tourists. The likes of Burberry are cutting back on floor space to make room for juice bars and yoga studios in shopping centres like Pacific Place Mall (pacificplace.com.hk).
Macao’s Taipa Village (taipavillagemacau.com) is a traditional culture and shopping hub, known for providing an antidote to the glitz of the mega-casinos. A number of new shops and cafés have opened there recently, among them Bella Taipa and Bare Nutrition.
Where to book it
TRAVEL 2 – 0800 022 4182
Four nights at the Harbour Grand Hong Kong, in a Superior Harbour View Room, room-only, with return Emirates flights from Gatwick and transfers, starts from £739pp. travel2.com
GOLD MEDAL – 0800 014 7777
Four nights at The Venetian Macao in a Deluxe Suite, room-only, with return Emirates flights to Hong Kong from Gatwick and ferry transfers, starts from £1099pp. goldmedal.co.uk