It’s party time? ‘Happy Hong Kong’ drive launches with HK$30 movie tickets, as city welcomes months of carnivals, food fairs, live music to mark journey out of Covid woods
- Finance chief Paul Chan says campaign to entice residents to enjoy local festivities at home even as some itch to travel overseas
- Other programmes in the pipeline include massive sea-land weekend carnival, a light show and promotions at theme parks
Economists and some residents, however, were not impressed, saying most people would rather have a higher sum in consumption vouchers or travel to Asian countries.
Launching the campaign on Monday afternoon, the finance minister said the economy was on track to recover thanks to strong consumption in the first quarter, despite the other two drives – exports and capital investment – not doing very well.
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“Residents have experienced difficulties in the past three years under the pandemic, and many have felt depressed and hoped to go abroad to relax. We really want to see many more smiling faces, and hopefully [the events] would bring back more positive sentiments and happy experiences for the people of Hong Kong.”
Chan added that the HK$20 million campaign would bring minimal impact to the city’s GDP, compared with the 0.6 per cent increase brought by the HK$30 billion consumption voucher initiative, which had its first round distributed in mid-April.
“Does it mean that the campaign isn’t worth launching? Apart from working and earning money, we also hope to live happier lives. This is our original intention,” Chan said.
The campaign will start this Saturday with “Cinema Day 2023”, allowing more than 200,000 residents to watch films anywhere in the city for HK$30, about one-fourth of the usual price. Tickets will be on sale from 11am on Thursday, and each person can only purchase four at the box office or online.
This will be followed by the “Happy Hong Kong Gourmet Marketplace” at the Convention and Exhibition Centre throughout the weekend. Entry will be free.
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About 100,000 tickets for the food fair will be distributed in the 18 district offices citywide on a first-come-first-serve basis from Wednesday. Each person can get two, while some will be available on-site. Sha Tin and Kwun Tong will host similar events in May and June, respectively.
A highlight will be a massive sea-land Harbour Chill Carnival on weekends in July and August along the Wan Chai promenade near Victoria Harbour, featuring a wide range of dancing, music and street performances by groups from around the world. A brand-new light show will also be on display.
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Tourism minister Kevin Yeung Yun-hung added that the events were designed for Hongkongers, but tourists were also welcome to join.
Jackson Ma Ho-chung, 29, who works in the education sector, was enthusiastic about the discounted movie tickets, saying he would take his family to see a film because “it’s a really good deal”.
But 33-year-old Calvin Ngan Kwan-yiu said he would have preferred more sweeteners instead.
“You know what really cheered me up? The consumption vouchers,” he said. “I think once people start spending, they keep spending, and that’s probably the best way to stimulate the local economy.”
Simon Lee Siu-po, an economist and honorary fellow at the Asia-Pacific Institute of Business at Chinese University, agreed that the planned events were not attractive or outstanding. He did not think they would impact the economy a lot.
“When you invite a football team, people hope to see [French players] Kylian Mbappe and Zinedine Zidane. Residents might still go to see the discounted movies, but many will opt to go to Japan or Taiwan to enjoy some cheaper cuisines that are incomparable to the pricey restaurants in Hong Kong,” he said.
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Simon Wong Kit-lung, who runs 56 restaurants under the LH Group, said the government was charging them for setting up booths at the weekend food fair, but he believed the event would serve as a promotion rather than a boost in business.
“The city used to hold a lot of food expos before the pandemic, and now they are making a comeback. Many in the catering industry like to participate and try. Businesses should be able to balance the additional manpower and resources required for the two-day event,” he said.
Timothy Yuen, chairman of the Hong Kong Theatres Association, hoped the movie event could encourage more audiences to watch movies at cinemas.
“It is an unprecedented event … We hope that the industry will recover and welcome many more blockbuster hits,” Yuen said.
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The “Hello Hong Kong” campaign involves spending vouchers, special events and 700,000 airline tickets to be given away.
