Why Hong Kong’s glamping scene is gaining ground, but slowly
Most tourists and locals in Hong Kong avoid the great outdoors, concentrating on urban activities such as shopping. We meet some of the people trying to change this by offering a compromise: camping with extra home comforts
The slopes of Lantau Peak are bathed in the golden glow of evening sunlight as they tower above our traditional canvas bell tent. In the silence, it’s easy to imagine this “glamping” location is nestled in the remote foothills of the Himalayas, not a just a few kilometres from Hong Kong International Airport.
“I think tourism in Hong Kong is gradually changing from the city to the countryside,” says Terence
Lee King-chung, chief executive of the Youth Hostel Association (YHA), which runs this campsite.
In 2015, Lee and his colleagues decided to introduce glamping – luxurious camping – to the association’s SG Davis campsite and hostel at Ngong Ping. Concealed in woodland just a few minutes’ walk from the tourist attractions around the Big Buddha, his team installed three large, Bohemian-style canvas bell tents. They come with bedding, comfortable inflatable mattresses, soft pillows, rechargeable lights and fans, Wi-fi and even hairdryers.
