Emerald Hotel axed in favour of office space

MIDDLE-BUDGET tourists will find less room at the local inns following the closure of yet another of Hong Kong's mid-range hotels last week.

Hoardings went up around The Emerald Hotel in Connaught Road West last weekend to prepare for its redevelopment into what its owners describe as Western district's ''first high-class commercial building''.

The demolition of the 316-room Emerald follows that of other mid-range hotels such as the China Merchants Hotel in Western, the China Harbour View in Wan Chai and the Lee Gardens Hotel in Causeway Bay recently, and the proposed demolition of the Richmond Hotel in Happy Valley and the Ambassador in Tsim Sha Tsui.

But tourism experts expressed concern at the latest victim of the movement that is sacrificing the territory's hotels for the sake of more profitable office space.

''It's very worrying because it indicates the continuation of this trend. And by squeezing out the middle-market you're taking a risk. We need to have different people who want to do different things when they're here,'' said Peter Woodrow, general manager (Far East) of British Airways.

He said that while he understood the short-term commercial interest of maximising returns on land, businesses should consider the longer-term effects of squeezing out a sector of the tourist industry.