The quest of Hong Kong – to regain the crown of a top tourist destination

Mark Pinkstone/Former Chief Information Officer of HK government

Hong Kong is clawing back to its former crowning glory as a world tourism destination with preliminary arrival figures for 2024 showing a healthy 40 million visitors, a 31 per cent increase compared with the previous year.

But it still has a long way to catch up with the world leader, France, which received 80 million visitors last year.

According to the Hong Kong Tourism Bureau, Hong Kong welcomed about the 40 million visitors, the majority of whom came naturally from the mainland (domestic tourism) and Southeast Asia (international market) which showed a 44 per cent increase over the previous year. And, collectively, they added some HK$207.3 billion to the city’s coffers.

As Hong Kong enters the Year of the Snake, the future looks bright and with a modest 15 per cent expected increase the city can expect some 46 million visitors spending $240 billion on hotels, tours and shopping this year.

In days, not so long gone by, Hong Kong was one of the world’s leading tourist destinations. It was known as the Pearl of the Orient and was a mixture of the East meeting the West. With English being the lingua franca of the tourism industry coupled with the provision of excellent service and efficiency, Hong Kong became the destination of choice. In 1965, it received 65.5 million visitors, the highest on record. In May 2023, Hong Kong was hailed as the Most Popular Cultural Tourism Destination at the Guangzhou International Travel Fair 2023.

The most popular attractions in Hong Kong are the Peak as Hong Kong’s number one tourist destination featuring the Peak Tower and the historic Peak Tram; Tian Tan Buddha (Big Buddha), as a major attraction on Lantau Island, along with the Po Lin Monastery and the fishing village of Tai O; the Hong Kong Skyline along Victoria Harbour, with nicely developed promenades and leisure parks on both sides; the Star Ferry with over 24,000 reviews; the Pandas at Ocean Park; and Hong Kong Disneyland as one of the world’s most beautiful theme parks, ranked 7th most popular globally by Forbes. And, according to Time Out magazine, Hong Kong is the world’s safest city, Hollywood Road is the world’s second coolest street, and Bar Leone is the best bar in Asia.

Then came 2019, Hong Kong became the target of insurgence attacks inspired by foreign powers. Riots broke out in the streets, and there were arson attacks and killings. No one wanted to visit Hong Kong. The flames of insurgency were fuelled by foreign governments advising their nationals not to visit Hong Kong for safety reasons. Quicky on the heels of the riots came COVID-19, and the world was in shut-down mode. By 2021, tourism was virtually obliterated with only 9,000 visitors and 60,000 the following year. Recovery started in 2023 with 23.34 million visitors.

As Hong Kong has no natural resources to sustain its viability, tourism has become a cornerstone of its economy. Another is trade.

It is therefore essential that the entire Hong Kong community extend a hand of welcome to our guests, for they are providing our bread and butter. Indifference towards our northern guests or towards various religious groups should not be tolerated. As a direct result of the problems of 2019-22, hundreds, if not thousands, of small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) have closed due to lack of business and their shops remain desolate among the survivors. The number of corporate bankruptcies (the number of winding-up orders) in Hong Kong in 2021 increased by 23.93 percent to 290, and a further increase by 3.44 percent to 300 in 2022. We have much to thank our visitors for: survival.

In his policy address last year, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said the government would release plans to invigorate the tourism industry. And in December, it did.

Known as Development Blueprint for Hong Kong’s Tourism Industry 2.0 (Blueprint 2.0), the document presents three key messages – that Hong Kong is an international tourist city with the advantage of being backed by the motherland; that everyone can contribute to the development of tourism in Hong Kong; and strengthen our traditional tourism advantages including world-class tourist attractions, cuisine, urban managements and transport systems.

The average length of stay by inbound visitors is approximately 3.6 nights, with the highest period of stay being 6.5 nights in 2021. Part of the new strategy will be to entice them to stay longer by providing value-added services and attractions.

It is a plan put together by the industry for the industry under an initiative by the government and with research input by the think tank, Our Hong Kong Foundation. The thoroughness that went into the Blueprint 2.0, including more than 1,000 suggestions from more than 110 trade organisations indicates the passion in which the industry and the government can work together for the betterment of Hong Kong and its people.

Mark Pinkstone

** 博客文章文責自負,不代表本公司立場 **

Mark Pinkstone/Former Chief Information Officer of HK government

The grass is not greener on the other side of the fence as many emigrants have found out. It doesn’t matter which country they plan to settle; the story is the same for most: desperation and hardship.

There have been stories of successes as the Chinese have been known for their tendency to emigrate to every corner of the world. There are Chinese restaurants and market gardens everywhere and many have even been admitted into local legislatures. There are also Hongkongers in academia and various professions taking up key positions in local communities.
But there have also been stories of hardships.

Hong Kong’s population stood at 7.1 million in 2010. Today it is officially 7.4 million and would have been more if there was not a dip of 0.9 per cent in the 2019-20 period when Hong Kong experienced devastating riots and social unrest. Many fled to the US, Canada, Australia and the UK for various reasons including searching of a better life or escaping prosecution for criminal offences relating to the riots. Others left to seek a better life abroad or to follow their loved ones.

Immigration lawyers rose like mushrooms in a damp paddock ready to sap a lucrative market seeking a new home in a far away place. And foreign governments could see the potential of a highly regarded workforce to bolster their economies. It appeared to be an ideal formula of supply and demand. But that was not to be.

Many who fled to the UK in the 2019-21 period arrived at a time when unemployment had reached 4.7 per cent so jobs in the promised land were not available. In fact, many were shunned as noted in a survey that the National Health Service (NHS) was facing severe staff shortages while Hong Kong medical professionals were Uber drivers.

Hongkongers who fled to the UK faced many problems, the greatest being language, followed by financial difficulties due to lack of work or low paying jobs.

The British think tank, British Future and its companion Welcoming Committee for Hong Kongers (WC4HK), had carried out a survey among arrivals from Hong Kong and found life in the promised land was not a bed of roses for the newcomers. They found the costs of council tax, energy bills and public transportation unexpectedly high. The useless British National (Overseas)BN(O) passport holders faced financial challenges due to their visa status, including lack of credit history, the NHS surcharge and difficulties accessing their Hong Kong pension.

Most of the participants interviewed by the WC4HK had not achieved a degree to fit with their previous jobs in Hong Kong. It was more common for the new arrivals to be working in both a different sector, and at a lower skilled level. For example an editor is now working as a waitress at events, an insurance accounts manager in a shipping firm is working in a warehouse as a picker and packer, an accountant is now working as a chef and was previously in retail and hotel work, a journalist who searched unsuccessfully for clerical work, is now working as a chef, a primary school teacher is now working in a nursing home, a construction manager is now doing freelance translation work, a marketing manager is now unemployed after working part-time in a beverage shop, a manager in a toy manufacturing company is now working on data input, a civil servant is now working as a security guard in a prison, and a director’s secretary is now working in two cleaning jobs. They are all square pegs in a round hole.

In January 2021, the British, in an effort to entice more Hong Kong people to the UK, introduced special immigration visas available to 5.4 million residents in its former colony. It was a flop!
Some 144,500 Hongkongers took up the new visa offer during the two years after the scheme was introduced. The scheme allowed BN(O) passport holders and their dependents to live and work in the UK for up to five years with the goal towards permanent residency and citizenship.

Adults born after 1997 can also apply on their own if one of their parents is a BN(O) holder.
But the Brits are putting up a brave face. British politician Robert Jenrick said last year when he was Immigration Minister that the policy allowed Hongkongers to “enjoy all the freedoms that we enjoy here [UK].” Actually, they are the very same freedoms enjoyed in Hong Kong.

And, unashamedly, he added, “Many Hongkongers have said that living in Britain is like coming home. The UK is proud to have welcomed 144,500 people from Hong Kong since the launch of the new BN(O) visa launch.”

Obviously, Mr Jenrick has not read the report from the Welcoming Committee for Hongkongers on the gripes Hongkongers have about the UK. And a success rate of 2.27 percent of the 5.4 million eligible to take up the offer is hardly something to crow about.