The quest of Hong Kong – to regain the crown of a top tourist destination

Mark Pinkstone/Former Chief Information Officer of HK government

Hong Kong is clawing back to its former crowning glory as a world tourism destination with preliminary arrival figures for 2024 showing a healthy 40 million visitors, a 31 per cent increase compared with the previous year.

But it still has a long way to catch up with the world leader, France, which received 80 million visitors last year.

According to the Hong Kong Tourism Bureau, Hong Kong welcomed about the 40 million visitors, the majority of whom came naturally from the mainland (domestic tourism) and Southeast Asia (international market) which showed a 44 per cent increase over the previous year. And, collectively, they added some HK$207.3 billion to the city’s coffers.

As Hong Kong enters the Year of the Snake, the future looks bright and with a modest 15 per cent expected increase the city can expect some 46 million visitors spending $240 billion on hotels, tours and shopping this year.

In days, not so long gone by, Hong Kong was one of the world’s leading tourist destinations. It was known as the Pearl of the Orient and was a mixture of the East meeting the West. With English being the lingua franca of the tourism industry coupled with the provision of excellent service and efficiency, Hong Kong became the destination of choice. In 1965, it received 65.5 million visitors, the highest on record. In May 2023, Hong Kong was hailed as the Most Popular Cultural Tourism Destination at the Guangzhou International Travel Fair 2023.

The most popular attractions in Hong Kong are the Peak as Hong Kong’s number one tourist destination featuring the Peak Tower and the historic Peak Tram; Tian Tan Buddha (Big Buddha), as a major attraction on Lantau Island, along with the Po Lin Monastery and the fishing village of Tai O; the Hong Kong Skyline along Victoria Harbour, with nicely developed promenades and leisure parks on both sides; the Star Ferry with over 24,000 reviews; the Pandas at Ocean Park; and Hong Kong Disneyland as one of the world’s most beautiful theme parks, ranked 7th most popular globally by Forbes. And, according to Time Out magazine, Hong Kong is the world’s safest city, Hollywood Road is the world’s second coolest street, and Bar Leone is the best bar in Asia.

Then came 2019, Hong Kong became the target of insurgence attacks inspired by foreign powers. Riots broke out in the streets, and there were arson attacks and killings. No one wanted to visit Hong Kong. The flames of insurgency were fuelled by foreign governments advising their nationals not to visit Hong Kong for safety reasons. Quicky on the heels of the riots came COVID-19, and the world was in shut-down mode. By 2021, tourism was virtually obliterated with only 9,000 visitors and 60,000 the following year. Recovery started in 2023 with 23.34 million visitors.

As Hong Kong has no natural resources to sustain its viability, tourism has become a cornerstone of its economy. Another is trade.

It is therefore essential that the entire Hong Kong community extend a hand of welcome to our guests, for they are providing our bread and butter. Indifference towards our northern guests or towards various religious groups should not be tolerated. As a direct result of the problems of 2019-22, hundreds, if not thousands, of small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) have closed due to lack of business and their shops remain desolate among the survivors. The number of corporate bankruptcies (the number of winding-up orders) in Hong Kong in 2021 increased by 23.93 percent to 290, and a further increase by 3.44 percent to 300 in 2022. We have much to thank our visitors for: survival.

In his policy address last year, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said the government would release plans to invigorate the tourism industry. And in December, it did.

Known as Development Blueprint for Hong Kong’s Tourism Industry 2.0 (Blueprint 2.0), the document presents three key messages – that Hong Kong is an international tourist city with the advantage of being backed by the motherland; that everyone can contribute to the development of tourism in Hong Kong; and strengthen our traditional tourism advantages including world-class tourist attractions, cuisine, urban managements and transport systems.

The average length of stay by inbound visitors is approximately 3.6 nights, with the highest period of stay being 6.5 nights in 2021. Part of the new strategy will be to entice them to stay longer by providing value-added services and attractions.

It is a plan put together by the industry for the industry under an initiative by the government and with research input by the think tank, Our Hong Kong Foundation. The thoroughness that went into the Blueprint 2.0, including more than 1,000 suggestions from more than 110 trade organisations indicates the passion in which the industry and the government can work together for the betterment of Hong Kong and its people.

Mark Pinkstone

** The blog article is the sole responsibility of the author and does not represent the position of our company. **

The United States hierarchy is downright racist! How dare vice-president JD Vance call the Chinese people “peasants” in such a derogatory tone?

The arrogance of Vance emerged when he started accusing Haitian refugees of stealing and eating pets in Springfield in September last year. This was widely disputed. Then, he was involved in a very public slinging match with Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky in the White House in front of the world’s media on March 1. He demanded that Zelensky should be thankful for the help the US has given Ukraine. Zelensky said he had, many times.

The Vance outburst against the Chinese erupted during a Fox & Friends TV interview when he was speaking in support of Trump’s tariff measures. Vance said, "We borrow money from the Chinese peasants to buy things those Chinese peasants manufacture.”

How rude and disrespectful he is of the US’s largest trading partner. Although married to an Indian woman, his racism is reflected through his arrogance. Vance and his cronies in the White House are politicians, not bureaucrats. They go for sound bites and media exposure to boost their image.

He is an embarrassment to the American public, with practically all mainstream media denouncing his comments. He is, after all, the Vice President of the United States of America, a position that commands respect.

His comments are reverberating around the world and illustrate just how arrogant US officials, from the president down, are. This is how they teach their followers to disrespect their foreign neighbors.

There are about 48 million Chinese residing in the US, a country already shrouded in racial discrimination. Comments of degradation from Vance will not help social discord within the country, and only an apology from Vance or the president can help alleviate the fear of abuse.

The popular US news website BuzzFeed published a report titled "People are calling out JD Vance for his offensive comment about the US borrowing money from 'Chinese peasants,' and it's shocking even for him," stating in a now-viral clip that Vance discussed the Trump administration's foreign trade policies with China by directly insulting Chinese people.

The report commented, "If there's one thing Vice President JD Vance is going to do, it's to embarrass Americans everywhere."

Fox News reported that when asked about Vance’s comments on Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said, "To hear words that lack knowledge and respect like those uttered by this vice president is both surprising and kind of lamentable.”

Lin said Vance’s comments produced reactions from the public in China, who were outraged by Vance's actions, and added that Vance’s statements obviously had a certain dose of hatred and arrogance, according to South Africa’s Financial World. In addition to China, many countries around the world are disappointed by the behavior of the US vice president, said the paper.

It added that most of the Chinese population emphasizes that Vance should be banned from visiting the country. “After such statements, it is certain that the US vice president is an undesirable figure among the Chinese population. Whether he will retract such statements or explain what he meant remains to be seen.”

The Chinese people are a hard-working lot and have been recognized worldwide for their ability to produce first-class goods and services at a reasonable price. It is difficult for the West to understand the Chinese work culture, which is steeped in tradition and innovation. The work-life balance varies, but dedication is common. Harmony and teamwork are prized, with a deep respect for authority. Building relationships (Guanxi) is crucial for success, and diligence is a hallmark.

This is something that Vance and his cronies fail to understand. They are not peasants!
Vance’s outburst came when trying, unsuccessfully, to explain Trump’s international tariff penalties, which in China’s case can reach 104 percent on all China goods imported into the US.

China’s total exports last year reached US$3.575 trillion worth of goods around the world. Some 14.7 percent of that went to the US ($524.9 billion), and 8.1 percent went to Hong Kong (second place) with a value of $291.4 billion. China’s imports from the US last year had dropped to $143.54 billion.