How do we solve the tourism puzzle?
While some hail the economic power of mainland visitors, others decry their behaviour and say they have a negative impact. Is there an answer?
On a recent, rainy weekday, the owner of a jade shop in Causeway Bay sat alone in her store. While business was brisk at Bowrington Road wet market next door, few shoppers gave a second glance to the jewellery in her shop window on Tin Lok Lane.
"It has been quiet these two months. There are fewer mainland tourists visiting," the woman says. "The tourists buy more than locals. Businesses need them. We pay the government taxes and rates. If the government stops tourists from coming, is it going to pay us?"
The scheme was a core element of the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement between the Hong Kong and Beijing governments. Introduced 11 years ago tomorrow, Cepa was intended to revive the city's economy after the 2003 severe acute respiratory syndrome crisis.
At its launch, the individual visit scheme was open only to residents of a few key cities, such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzen. It has since expanded to 49 cities, helping to push the number of mainland tourists to 40 million last year out of 54 million total arrivals. The government expects total visitor numbers to grow to 100 million by 2023, fuelled largely by further increases in mainland visits.
But the influx has led to a love-hate relationship between Hongkongers and mainland tourists and sparked a debate about how the scheme can be reformed to reduce the social impact of tourism without hitting the economy.