New gateway for cultural exchange
GBA can broaden travel prospects for heritage, healthcare, business services
“By emphasizing on culture and creativity in our strategies, we can unlock collaboration across the region ...”
PANSY HO
Group executive chairman and managing director of Shun Tak Holdings
The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area is offering new opportunities to entrepreneurs and other businesses that wish to expand and diversify their markets, industry leaders and experts say.
According to participants in the GBA Conference organized by China Daily and Hong Kong Coalition, the travel and tourism industry in the GBA can tap into the growing demand for culture and heritage-related travel.
Likewise, a huge market combined with preferential policies will benefit those in the medical and healthcare sectors.
These recommendations were presented during two panel discussions at the Nov 30 GBA Conference. The hybrid event, which explored the theme “Embracing New Opportunities: Connecting GBA to RCEP”, gathered over 400 people, including government officials, business leaders and academics.
According to speakers in the panel discussion themed “Unlocking Tourism Collaborations through Cultural Sustainability and Heritage Development in the GBA”, the GBA has rich culinary, arts and cultural resources that will appeal to travelers who prefer a “higher degree of engagement” in their visits.
Adrian Cheng, CEO of New World Development Company Limited, said Hong Kong and the GBA are “destined to become a flourishing hub for culture and heritage”.
He said the younger generation of travelers — Gen Z and millennials — might be keen on the latest digital trends and innovation, but they are also developing “a nostalgic appreciation of the past”.
Y.K. Pang, chairman of the Hong Kong Tourism Board, said more travelers are seeking a higher degree of engagement in their visits, boosting demand for cultural and heritagerelated travel. He said Hong Kong can serve as a gateway to the GBA, attracting culture and heritage tourists from around the world.
“The emergence of the Greater Bay Area has broadened and brightened our horizons and provided us with the opportunities to showcase to the world the richness not only of Hong Kong, but also of a dynamic new region full of diversity, life, history and heritage,” Pang said.
Louis Ng, director of Hong Kong Palace Museum, said the pandemic had been challenging for the Hong Kong tourism industry. This is why it is time to upgrade tourism products, create new resources and shape a more sustainable and innovative tourism ecosystem.
Pansy Ho, group executive chairman and managing director of Shun Tak Holdings Limited, said the 11 cities in the GBA need to jointly formulate tourism strategies that “highlight our strengths, our unique advantages and to fully portray Lingnan culture”.
“By emphasizing on culture and creativity in our strategies, we can unlock collaboration across the region and ultimately across the wider global tourism economy,” she said.
Kevin Lau Chung-hang, founding director of Trinity Medical Centre, a Hong Kong-based healthcare services provider, said the big market combined with preferential policies can benefit businesses operating in the GBA.
“It’s been announced two months ago that drugs, vaccines and machines that we currently (have access to) in Hong Kong can now enter the GBA tariff-free, (and enjoy) the same amount of tax we pay in Hong Kong. That’s a huge game-changer,” Lau said in a panel discussion on “Hong Kong: The International Business Hub for GBA”.
Patrick Lau, deputy executive director at the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, said the GBA is a gateway to the Chinese mainland market.
“Many international businesses are very keen on the GBA cities and doing a lot of outreaches both in Hong Kong as well as overseas offices during the pandemic,” he said.
Lau said HKTDC has launched GoGBA, a platform which provides GBA information and policy updates to entrepreneurs and startup founders.
As the GBA is a very competitive market, entrepreneurs must be very well prepared, carefully research their fields of business and “utilize all the available government incentives, government policies to make sure they have the biggest chance to succeed”, he said.
Clarence Ling Chun-kit, director of Kwai Hung Group, is encouraging the Hong Kong youth to explore GBA opportunities. “You never know unless you experience it yourself, unless you know what’s happening,” Ling said, suggesting that the city’s youngsters “go across the border more, and be on the ground, to know what’s going on, and contribute to the country”.