Income from tourists not only provides jobs, but stimulates the economy, creates incentives to invest in infrastructure and human capital, and encourages a city to preserve its cultural heritage and natural wonders.

After nearly three years of inert tourism around the world, many places are desperate to revive their tourism sectors.

Hong Kong’s latest efforts in this regard have grabbed the world’s attention, triggering a fervent discourse among fans and detractors.

One diehard fan defended Hong Kong when some people claimed the city is not as appealing to tourists as Singapore, and called the latter “Singabore”.

Scott Hegarty, a Hong Kong resident, wrote in a letter recently published in the Post that “even a square foot of Hong Kong has more personality than Singapore could ever hope to have”.

Hong Kong is known to be a super-efficient city and, because of its compact size, visitors can cram a lot of culture into a short visit. One day you may be eating a range of Chinese regional cuisines and the next day you could be dining on elevated Spanish cuisine at Agora or fine Lebanese fare at Maison Libanaise.

The city is also famed for its highly efficient and affordable public transport system, vibrant street markets, and astonishingly low levels of crime.

It’s clear that I am a big fan of Hong Kong, but that also means I can be one of its harshest critics. Since I love the city so much, I want it to succeed and not to become complacent, which may be the case at the moment.

It is the very nature of trends to come and go. Even the best products can be surpassed and replaced if they don’t evolve with the times and changing consumers’ tastes.

Just as we gravitate towards people we are attracted to, that initial force of magnetism inevitably fades if it is not sustained by other qualities. Relationships are maintained by qualities such as kindness, sensitivity, and dependability.

The same goes for a city – a magnetic personality alone is not enough to draw in visitors and keep them coming back. Hong Kong is an alluring city, but it has been sitting on its laurels while the world has been evolving with the times.

Singapore may appear to be sterile because it is clean and orderly, but it is highly appealing to families with children. When my daughter was little, we used to travel to the Lion City a lot for short holidays because of how child-friendly it is.

By comparison, Hong Kong is an exciting metropolis like New York and Tokyo, but it is not always as friendly and helpful; in fact, it can come off as abrasive to some visitors.

We should endeavour to make visitors feel more welcome in our city. This means offering a helping hand to its visitors and showing them just how great our city is and what it has to offer.

Every resident is a Hong Kong ambassador – so do your job, people!

We want visitors to remember our city with such fondness that even if they don’t return, they will spread the good word on our behalf. And if they do wish to grace us with their presence once more, we want to make sure every future trip can offer something new.

For the detractors who think Hong Kong is not that appealing to tourists, thank you for your warning. We need this kind of critique to keep us on our toes, otherwise we run the risk of relying on old tourist tropes to keep visitors interested.

Hong Kong has never been averse to reinventing itself, so why not?

Luisa Tam is a Post editor who also hosts video tutorials on Cantonese language that are now part of Cathay Pacific’s in-flight entertainment programme