‘Anywhere in Hong Kong’ can be visitor hotspot: Xia Baolong, Beijing’s top man on city affairs, urges tourism revamp amid ‘profound changes’
- Xia Baolong, director of Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, tells tourism chief Kevin Yeung every part of city can be potential tourist spot
- Yeung is on three-day visit to capital, with his schedule including ceremony at Beijing’s Palace Museum and visit to Ministry of Culture and Tourism
Beijing’s top official on Hong Kong affairs has urged the local administration to revitalise its tourism offerings amid “profound changes” in the market and treat every corner of the city as a potential spot to lure visitors.
Xia Baolong, the director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, told tourism chief Kevin Yeung Yun-hung in a meeting in Beijing that the sector must recognise “external and internal changes” that call for reinvention and the adoption of fresh policies.
He said the city should take a “high quality” approach that drew on elements of its own character, adding that tourism development was highly important for driving economic growth and pursuing new opportunities.
“It is necessary [for the city] to build up an image that ‘anywhere in Hong Kong can serve as a tourist spot’,” Xia said.
“[The city must] fully explore its rich tourism resources, actively draw on successful experiences from various places, innovate ideas, optimise policies, promote participation across society, vigorously develop new tourism routes and products, and promote warm hospitality and continuous improvement of service quality.”
Xia did not elaborate further on the external and internal changes driving such efforts.