Hong Kong’s tourism policy should meet needs of visitors and residents
Better policies and attracting tourists from other countries will help offset influx of mainlanders
The outlook for Hong Kong's retail property market has become a hot topic for debate amid the recent decline in retail sales and proposed changes to the scheme allowing individual mainland tourists to visit the city.
Figures from the Hong Kong Tourism Board showed the growth rate in overnight visitor arrivals from the mainland declined for the third consecutive month in June. The government's monthly statistics also showed sales revenue fell in June for the fifth month in a row.
However, you wouldn't know anything had changed after visiting the shopping districts and theme parks which were packed with mainland tourists during the summer.
Hong Kong is still a popular destination for mainland tourists. But the government should review its tourism policy and formulate comprehensive measures to reduce the impact of increasing numbers of mainland visitors on the lives of Hong Kong citizens - or risk provoking a new round of protests from locals.
The government needs to create a better environment for both tourists and Hongkongers
Hong Kong received 28.53 million tourists in the first half, with more than 76 per cent from the mainland. The reliance on mainland tourists saw stores selling jewellery, luxury brands, electronics appliances, cosmetics and drugs expand aggressively over the past decade. Many older shops and restaurants have closed and many will not survive because of skyrocketing retail rents. This has affected the lives of ordinary citizens, while the city is losing its unique character at the same time.
The positive impact on the hospitality industry, particularly for luxury hotels, has been limited, even though mainland tourist arrivals recorded double-digit percentage growth last year. Mainland tourists prefer budget and economy hotels in Hong Kong, and those who can afford higher room rates are travelling to other countries or have to cut their travel budget under the central government's anti-corruption campaign.
As such, the Hong Kong government should try to attract tourists from other countries, instead of relying so much on mainland tourists.
Hong Kong has also lagged behind neighbouring Asian cities in facilitating tourist arrivals in recent years. Singapore's Orchard Road and Hong Kong's Russell Street in Causeway Bay and Canton Road in Tsim Sha Tsui are the main shopping streets in the two cities. Singapore's government renovated Orchard Road in 2007, offering a better shopping environment to shoppers and facilities catering to tourists. In Hong Kong, it was left to developers to improve the look of Canton Road by adding roadside plants.
South Korea's prime shopping area, Myeongdong, puts tourist representatives on the streets to help tourists.
If the government believes tourism is important to the city, it needs to create a friendly and better environment for both tourists and Hongkongers.
