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LettersDriving tourism is as simple as focusing on Hong Kong’s unique appeal
- Readers discuss Hong Kong’s uniqueness as tourism destination, the role universities play in boosting the city’s appeal, and a recent liveability ranking
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With the Covid-19 pandemic, global tourism has undergone significant changes. More are pursuing in-depth tourism, instead of just going shopping. By one estimate, global demand for cultural tourism is likely to grow at compound annual growth rate of 14.4 per cent in the coming decade. By 2033, the global cultural tourism market may reach around US$23 billion.
What do we need to learn from this? Well, if mainland tourists are no longer interested in buying luxury goods in Hong Kong, we must adapt, simple as that. In a free market, customers are king. When tastes change, it makes more sense to cater to new preferences than to waste time trying to persuade tourists to go back to their old ways.
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But how should Hong Kong change? Given our limitations – a land area of 1,114.57 sq km – we are not about to discover new beach paradises. Nor is it feasible to build more theme parks.
What makes more sense, especially from a sustainable perspective, is to build on what we have and dig deeper.
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Hong Kong is a city where East meets West. This is our unique feature, and it is one with deep historical roots. More than 150 years of British colonial rule and Japanese occupation have left many monuments in Hong Kong: the city’s more than 1,400 graded historical buildings are undoubtedly precious resources for in-depth tourism.
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