Think tank unveils plan to sharpen HK tourism
Hong Kong should urge the central government to relax its visa arrangements to entice more mainland Chinese and boost the city’s “single journey, multi-stop” allure while sharpening its tourism edge, a leading think tank has said.
The suggestion was one of 14 made by the Our Hong Kong Foundation to resuscitate the tourism industry as the city struggles with a slow pace of recovery and competition with Greater Bay Area rivals for consumer dollars.
“The recovery of Hong Kong’s tourism and retail industry has been unsatisfactory as it has yet to be restored to the pre-pandemic levels,” said Ryan Ip Man-ki, the foundation’s vice president and co-head of research.
“The industry is in the grip of several challenges, namely tourists’ unwillingness to come due to travel hurdles, their reluctance to stay overnight due to price hikes and disorganized events, and their loss of interest in coming back again due to the city’s lack of novelty.”
Hong Kong last year welcomed 34 million visitors, 17 million of whom stayed overnight. That compares with 65 million, of whom 29 million stayed overnight, recorded in 2018.
The foundation, founded by former city leader Tung Chee-hwa and now chaired by Bernard Chan, a former convenor of the government’s key decision-making Executive Council, said its proposed measures could attract tourism dollars and help redefine Hong Kong’s charm and glamor.
The think tank has also suggested relaxing visa arrangements for mainland tourists, lowering fees and charges on airlines to reduce fares, offering “hotel plus events” promotional tickets, as well as creating a central app for visitors and more celebrity tourism products.
The government should lobby Beijing to extend the once-a-week visit permits offered to Shenzhen residents to other cities in the bay area, and gradually to mainland cities beyond the bay area that had a solo traveler scheme in place, it suggested.
The bay area is Beijing’s plan to link Hong Kong, Macao and nine Guangdong cities into an economic powerhouse.
The foundation also called on Beijing to relax the terms of the visa-free transit scheme that applied to individuals passing through Guangdong, so more international travelers could visit the province via the city. Currently, only foreign tour groups arriving from Hong Kong can apply for the 144-hour access.
“The visa-free transit only benefits a small number of foreign visitors who have joined a tour group,” Ip said. “This is counterproductive to the development of the ‘single journey, multi-stop’ offerings in the bay area.
“The easing of visa arrangements for both mainland and international visitors aims to facilitate more tourists to come to Hong Kong by removing certain hurdles and limitations.”
The group also urged authorities to reduce various fees and charges on airlines in a bid to cut air fares, including those for landing, parking and using the terminal building charges.
Some of their recommendations also addressed the government’s initiatives to promote the mega-event economy, calling for a newly formed interdepartmental coordination group to cut red tape to allow organizations to plan and host events via its one-stop service.
Promoting HK’s global image
Hong Kong has planned more than 80 mega events for the first six months of the year, aiming to “bring joy and pride” to locals and tourists alike while boosting the economy and promoting the city’s image on the global stage.
“The government should coordinate different mega events at different times with related activities at other venues to complement each other and create a synergy effect,” said Kenny Shui Chi-wai, the foundation’s vice president and co-head of research.
“There should be a package price of ‘hotels plus events’ to entice visitors to stay overnight.”
Authorities should also provide organizers with sufficient time, more than three months for instance, to prepare for the event, including crafting publicity campaigns, which would also allow shopping malls and restaurants to roll out activities to stimulate spending, Shiu said.
The think tank advised the government to make use of the Victoria Harbour as a backdrop for mega events covering arts and fashion, as well as more drone light shows.
Jason Leung Yeuk-ho, the foundation’s senior researcher, said Hong Kong should develop more products based on celebrities and culture, including its rich cinematic history.
“The city suffers from a lack of novel attractions,” he said. “Existing celebrity products are all scattered and have not been presented in an organized and systematic manner. Authorities need to make use of the star power of celebrities to repackage their products to increase the appeal of Hong Kong.”
He added that the government should roll out an all-in-one app for tourists to access different information, as well as subsidize e-payment options for small businesses and taxis.
“With these measures, we hope to create many more new postcards for Hong Kong which can showcase to the world its uniqueness,” he said.
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The city suffers from a lack
of novel attractions.
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