New attractions to enrich travel experience

2018-09-07 12:59:24

With the concerted efforts of our industry members, Hong Kong has become one of the world's favourite tourist destinations. We are proud that our city is ranked by the Euromonitor International as number one among the top 100 city destinations in the world.

While a lot of people would use tourist numbers as an easy indicator of the popularity of a city's tourism attractions, I must reiterate that Hong Kong?s success has not and should not be measured by tourist figures alone. I would say, total experience among tourists counts better. Even if we look at figures, let us look at a bucket of them. If we look at retail figures (total retail sales value increased by 7.8% year-on-year in July 2018), hotel occupancy (rates were nearly 90% in 2017), visits to attractions, MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions) activities, diversity of tourists among origins and balance between long and short-haul travels, 2017 and 2018 have been quite rewarding years for Hong Kong. But we can do better.

We can do better by broadening and deepening the scope of entertainment, enjoyment and experience of tourists in Hong Kong. This involves constant upgrading and improvement of services, the creation of and re-investing in new attractions, and re-discovering hidden treasures in our tourism resources. The rejuvenation of history and heritage content together with arts and culture in our Central District is a recent example. The recent completion of the renovated Tai Kwun, the restoration and rebirth of the three historical monument buildings of the Central Police Station, Central Magistracy and Victoria Prison have now become an exciting landmark among our tourist attractions. Together with the Dr Sun Yat-sen Historical Trail and PMQ, which has become home to over 100 design galleries and shops, Central district offers a totally new and dramatic experience to our visitors.

We will continue to do more in enriching what a tourist, new or repeat (experiences), in getting a totally new experience in discovering Hong Kong. Following the success of Central Old Town, our next project is to "experience every local bit" of two other districts, namely Sham Shui Po and Wan Chai districts, where a typical Hong Kong style of local living and livelihood could be of interest to tourists too. I am sure these are interesting and rewarding experiences for getting to know more about the local character of Hong Kong as a city where the East meets the West; and tradition crosses over with modern metropolitan life.

Creating new attractions alone cannot satisfy a sustainable tourism trade. City management, municipal services and quality assurance are all important. Safety, comfort and trust cannot be taken for granted. And any city that is safe and easy to travel in will be greatly welcomed by visitors.

In this regard, I am proud to say that Hong Kong is one of the safest cities in the world, and a city that is easy for any tourists to get around with its efficient transport and tourist-friendly facilities. These are important pillars that support our industry. And we must continue to make the best endeavour to do more and do better in receiving visitors from all over the world and to ensure that they have enjoyed their stay.

The tourism industry is not a single or stand-alone trade. Increasingly, tourism works in tandem with related businesses like conferences and MICE, and business travellers' experience in particular, is often important in facilitating their repeated visits and furthering their goal in coming to a city for purposes other than sightseeing.

Hong Kong prides itself as an international business and financial centre, and we will continue to provide the best venue for all these commercial activities and play a good host to events like the one here this evening.

In the coming few weeks, we will see the commissioning of two major cross-boundary modern transport links, connecting Hong Kong much closer, easier and more comfortably to our immediate hinterland, the bay area (the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area), as well as the entire country of the Mainland of China. The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao-Bridge and the high speed railway (Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link) will be our new connections to the wider region and the world. It is also high time for Hong Kong to do better in seizing the opportunity to position ourselves as the most favourite destination as well as a prime landing place for multi-destination travelling in this region.

With all these new and exciting things happening, I stand ready to welcome all of you to come to Hong Kong more frequently.

Secretary for Commerce & Economic Development Edward Yau gave these remarks at the World Travel Awards Asia & Australasia Gala Ceremony 2018 on September 3.

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