Mark Pinkstone/Former Chief Information Officer of HK government
A leading pillar of Hong Kong’s economy, tourism, took a severe beating in recent years when foreign governments issued travel advisories against visiting Hong Kong due to political unrest and subsequent national security laws followed by international constraints caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
But now the glitter is returning to the Pearl of the Orient with the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) reporting a 77 per cent increase in visitors for the first five months of the year, compared to the same period last year. That represents 18.8 million visitors, which includes 13.8 million from the Mainland. This is a vast improvement from the lull periods, which in March of 2022 saw an all time low of only 1800 visitors. Restaurants, hotels, and particularly the retail sector suffered tremendously.
Tourism significantly contributes to Hong Kong’s economy by accounting for about 4 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and a substantial amount of the city’s employment.
So, it was very welcome news when the Central Government announced it will increase the duty-free allowance for returnees to the mainland from Hong Kong, a move that is expected to generate at least an additional HK$8.8 billion to the city’s coffers.
“The new measure will enhance the shopping experience for mainland visitors to Hong Kong and allow them greater flexibility when shopping, which is beneficial for Hong Kong in attracting more visitors and boosting the development of diversified tourism,” said Hong Kong’s Chief Executive John Lee after the announcement.
To keep the ball rolling to entice mainland visitors to stay longer, the HKTB simultaneously announced it will roll out 500,000 “Summer Triple Rewards” for overnight visitors with spending discounts on transport, sightseeing, retail and dining, totalling up to $500 per visitor with a total value of about $100 million.
On average, mainland visitors spend about 3.1 nights in Hong Kong, with an average per capita spending of $5,400.
Tourists not only bring the obvious benefits to Hong Kong, but also to the service industries. Life insurance sales in Hong Kong surged by 39 per cent in the first quarter of the year as a result of strong growth in the number of mainland visitors buying policies in Hong Kong, according to the Insurance Authority on May 31. New business premiums from mainland visitors amounted to HK$15.6 billion, which is 24 per cent of the total and up from $9.61billion for the first quarter of last year.
Sovereign Trust (Hong Kong) managing director Alan Fong offered the opinion: “The substantial growth we are seeing in the insurance industry is further proof that Hong Kong’s economy is not only recovering but exceeding pre-COVID levels.”
But the travel advisories continue to hamper Hong Kong’s tourism growth. False information issued by the Five-Eyes network of intelligence agencies advise that Hong Kong is still an unsafe place to visit due to arbitrarily enforcement of our national security laws. This is rubbish and totally false information. Hong Kong’s national security laws would not affect the everyday tourists to the city who are here simply to shop and have a good time and without any criminal intent. The advisories are pure scaremongering
The Australian Government, for example, updated its advisory on July 3 with: “We continue to advise a high degree of caution in Hong Kong. Hong Kong's Safeguarding National Security Law came into effect in March 2024. Hong Kong has strict laws on national security that can be interpreted broadly. You could be detained without charge and denied access to a lawyer.”
The US Department warned: “Exercise increased caution when traveling to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) due to the arbitrary enforcement of local laws.” Canada follows the same wording with “Exercise a high degree of caution in Hong Kong due to the risk of arbitrary enforcement of local laws.”
Even Taiwan joined the bandwagon, with the authorities in Taipei upgrading its travel alert, urging its citizens to avoid unnecessary travel to Hong Kong, Macau and the mainland, citing personal safety risks following the enactment of multiple security laws.
Unbeknown to anyone, the Taipei authorities maintain that “there have been quite a few cases of Taiwanese citizens being illegally detained, held, and interrogated when travelling to mainland China.” It also advised its citizens to avoid filming ports, airports and military exercise sites and carrying books relating to politics, history and religion. Oh my, there appears areas of paranoia here.
Incentives offered by the mainland authorities and the HKTB in the past couple of years have helped lift this important pillar out of the doldrums, which has been an important mainstay of our economy for many decades. But to revert to our former glory as a leading global destination, we need the support of the international community to lift their travel advisories and allow their citizens the freedom of travel without fear of shortcomings.
Mark Pinkstone
** The blog article is the sole responsibility of the author and does not represent the position of our company. **