Hong Kong tourism bosses look to Sheung Wan’s arts scene to bring in a new kind of traveller
The city’s offering to tourists needs to diversify in the face of dwindling mainland visitor numbers
Hong Kong’s tourism promoter is turning to the local arts scene to attract visitors by highlighting the city’s artistic attractions in its promotional campaigns as shopping loses its charm because of the strong local currency.
The Tourism Board, tasked with diversifying an industry suffering dwindling mainland visitor numbers, will include galleries and street art attractions on Hollywood Road in Sheung Wan in its promotional campaigns. The board hopes art lovers, who are often richer than many other tourists, will boost consumption.
“This is very helpful for Hong Kong tourism,” said Raymond Huang, chief experience officer at online travel agency Klook, which provides art tours including visits to several galleries every weekend for both tourists and locals.
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“Hong Kong has more than 200 galleries. It is one of the major art transaction cities, but people don’t come to Hong Kong for the arts, which is very surprising,” Huang said.