Tour groups unlikely to trek to the Walk of Fame
Industry insiders doubt if the waterfront Avenue of Stars will be an instant hit
Hong Kong's film stars may be a big attraction for visitors, but a row of their handprints set in concrete may not be.
When the $40 million Avenue of Stars - the city's answer to Hollywood's Walk of Fame - opens this month on the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront, many tour guides are likely to give it a miss.
Even the Tourism Board's modest goal of 125 foreign visitors a day may not be met initially.
Inbound travel agencies say they and their customers know little about the attraction, which will feature souvenir kiosks and a six-metre model of a Hong Kong Film Awards statuette. They doubt the pulling power of what travel trade spokesman Michael Wu Siu-ieng calls the biggest addition this year to Hong Kong's tourism draws.
Twenty-four stars, including Jackie Chan, director John Woo Yu-sum and actress Michelle Yeoh Choo Kheng, have added their handprints to the 440-metre strip, which honours 70 film greats, including Bruce Lee.
A Tourism Board spokesman said last night more handprints would be added to the avenue, but did not say how many or when.
Mr Wu, who operates Gray Line Tours and is chairman of the Hong Kong Association of Travel Agents, admitted he had doubts that enough leading stars could be found to back the project, which is being developed by the Tourism Board and New World Development. 'It's possible they would have to resort to inviting second-rate stars.'
He also said his company would not take tourists to the attraction for now, but might reconsider.
'I understand that the Tourism Board is negotiating with the Hong Kong Film Award Association on whether they can invite stars to give signatures to tourists. They might also have televisions playing the stars' movies,' he said.
A senior manager at the Shenzhen China Travel Service said none of its customers had expressed an interest in seeing the Avenue of Stars.
'We are not planning to include it as a must-visit spot yet,' she said. 'I do not know much about this Avenue of Stars.'
Iris Cheung Wing-cheong, manager of local tour organiser Fat Tat Hang, said it might take about 300 mainland tourists to the Avenue of Stars during next month's Labour Day holidays.
'I think it will not be very attractive to our customers,' she said. 'I'm afraid it will soon lose its appeal.'
The reaction is a far cry from the vision of Tourism Board chairwoman Selina Chow Liang Shuk-yee. 'With the special lighting and kiosks, we hope visitors will also find this a good spot for nightlife in Hong Kong,' she said last year.
The Tourism Board expects 150,000 visitors to the Avenue of Stars in a full year but says 70 per cent of them will be Hongkongers.
It said surveys showed 14 per cent of visitors to the city were interested in locations used for Hong Kong movies and 12 per cent were interested in visits to film and TV studios.
