HK pledges to boost economy by HK$120bn with tourism blueprint

Pandas, horse racing, and mega events are among the key themes of Hong Kong’s latest tourism blueprint, aimed at injecting HK$120bn into the local economy and employing 210,000 people in five years.

The tourism blueprint 2.0 covers four development strategies, 16 implementation directions, 59 action plans and 133 measures to reinforce the role of Hong Kong as an international tourism hub and core demonstration zone for multi-destination tourism.

It also aims to highlight its local cultural characteristics and make use of its status as the East-meets-West centre for international cultural exchange; as well as uphold its role as a city with high-quality tourism experiences.

The first strategy, “Nurture and develop tourism products”, focuses on promoting the in-depth integration of tourism with four areas, namely culture, sports, ecology and mega events, in which Hong Kong possesses world-class resources that have yet to be fully presented to global visitors.

Covering 46 measures, it aims to craft a series of distinctive and attractive tourism products and projects to attract global visitors to explore in-depth Hong Kong's rich and diversified unique tourism resources, with a view to enhancing Hong Kong's attractiveness as a world-class premier tourism destination.

The second strategy aims to develop potential source markets while consolidating existing core markets, and roll out promotions targeting the characteristics of specific segments to encourage more meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions visitors and cruise passengers to visit Hong Kong.

Another strategy of the blueprint is smart tourism, which aims to facilitate and enhance visitors' experiences and improve the competitiveness of the industry. Through the use of modern information technology such as electronic platforms, big data and artificial intelligence, Hong Kong will further enhance the smart level of tourism services and add smart elements to tourist attractions to provide visitors with a more convenient, efficient and user-friendly travel experience.

The last strategy aims to attract talent, nurture professionals by enhancing service quality and improving hardware support across sectors.

With the arrival of two giant pandas An An and Ke Ke in Hong Kong and the birth of two giant panda cubs in 2024, the government will also continue to promote panda tourism and oversee the implementation of the development strategy announced by Ocean Park in 2021, including the construction and completion of a new Adventure Zone in the upper park area of Ocean Park.

The Hong Kong Tourism Board will further promote horse racing tourism by partnering with the Hong Kong Jockey Club to roll out major international races and races with local characteristics.

On the other hand, HKTB will conduct extensive marketing for various arts and cultural mega events and activities and will encourage the industry to develop tourism products related to these cultural and arts activities to promote the integration of culture and tourism.

With the proposed initiatives, the authorities expect that in five years, the value added of the tourism industry will reach HK$120 billion and employment will increase from 145,600 in 2023 to about 210,000.

“Tourism was paralysed during the pandemic. Following the pandemic, tourists’ travel patterns have changed and we have to reform the industry,” the city’s tourism chief Rosanna Law (pictured middle) said on Monday.

“We must continue to strengthen these advantages and optimise our hardware facilities. At the same time, we must also explore new tourism resources, including injecting momentum and freshness into the city through soft power such as mega events and festivals, to enhance the ambience of the tourist city to attract tourists from all over the world and create a home-away-from-home travel experience for them,” she added.

“We call for establishing awareness that 'Everyone is a tourism ambassador' among all citizens who will be able to receive every visitor with enthusiasm and friendliness and spread the positive energy and image of Hong Kong to cultivate a harmonious, cohesive and vibrant tourism atmosphere together.”

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