With the “Hello Hong Kong” campaign. elevation failed and tourist numbers dwindle, the search for answers continues. Blaming the Covid-19 pandemic is a common part of this exercise, but it does not explain why cities like Bangkok, Tokyo and Macau – all emerging from their own pandemic woes – are packed with visitors.
Copying the approach of other destinations would be like rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic, but this is a common bureaucratic reaction when ideas are scarce. Every place has its own unique character, and this is what excites visitors. No one visits Japan expecting sumo wrestlers to participate Swan Lakeas fun as that is.
Hong Kong still retains key features that drove the number of inbound visitors to 65 million in 2018, so why the decline? The riots of the following years certainly enlivened some people and depressed others, but visitors to the city have always enjoyed a unique combination of Western cosmopolitanism and Cantonese tradition with an unrivaled street spectacle. Canned celebrity ads just don’t pass this message on.
It’s not a matter of budget, but of imagination. The fascinating solar-powered SheepView360 cameras in the tiny Faroe Islands have led to a surge in tourism. Queensland caught the world’s attention in 2009 with its “ the best job in the world” campaign to take up a six-month keeper position to bring attention to the Great Barrier Reef.
Switzerland prompted Robert De Niro to complain to Roger Federer that his country was “too perfect” for a film set. The tongue-in-cheek tease ended with the line: “When you need a drama-free break.” In 2020, Iceland’s Leave It All Out campaign featured anguished people screaming at the top of their lungs in remote scenic locations. It was an instant hit and showcased the country with an incredible sense of humor.
02:07 a.m
Hong Kong to give away 500,000 plane tickets as part of HK$2 billion promotional campaign
Hong Kong to give away 500,000 plane tickets as part of HK$2 billion promotional campaign
Hong Kong would do well to return to its local design roots instead of imposing boring luxury shopping on mainland visitors who have moved on. Home artists, niche family shops and vibrant creative communities should be rehabilitated and offered low-rent spaces in prime locations. These are the people most marginalized by the pandemic and the relentless march of monocultural shopping centers.
Japan was the main tourist market for Hong Kong in the 1970s, followed by Southeast Asia and North America. Europe’s share grew steadily, but in the 1990s the mainland and Taiwan emerged as the leading sources and the government put all its eggs in the continental basket. Now the chickens have come home to roost.
Following a decline in arrivals, a brief 2015 study by the Legislative Council Secretariat called for diversification of source markets and bluntly concluded that the slowdown reflected over-reliance on mainland visitors. He also revealed that since the launch of Disneyland in 2005, newer venues such as Ngong Ping 360 and Sky 100 have proved “not very attractive”.
To get out of the quagmire, the government has two wonderful allies in Cathay Pacific Airways – to influence and fly in international visitors – and the MTR to bring them into the hidden hinterland. These three can do a lot if they work together.
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Hong Kong needs more than an advertising campaign to restore its image
Hong Kong needs more than an advertising campaign to restore its image
MTR Corporation has a laudable mission to support the community that can be brought to the fore. By last November, the domestic rail network carried an average of about 4.9 million people a day. It is lots of eyeballsnot counting airport express and general station traffic.
The MTR is in an excellent position to encourage passengers, including tourists, to discover local markets, consideration and research. The station maps are instructive, but given its weight and scope, the corporation could do much more.
At Kam Sheung Road station, which serves Kam Tin town, for example, there is no effort to promote the colorful fight on adjacent MTR land. There is talk among some tenants that it could be closed later this year in favor of yet another bland shopping center. This in no way inspires urban weekenders looking for something different.
Just around the corner from the station are The Richfield cafes, housed in converted shipping containers and the great Market of red brick houses, a former candle factory turned weekend treat with everything from a fine bakery to candles, art, clothing and crafts. Next door, the old decades Money needed Brass factory has its own charm.
Brass candlesticks are on display at the Sum Ngai Brass Factory on Kam Sheung Road in Kam Tin. Photo: SCMP
For a conglomerate that reports a Profit of HK$2.4 billion (US$307 million). in the first half of 2023, it wouldn’t hurt the bottom line if it installed bright billboards and posters around the station to draw attention to these areas. Musicians and artists may be offered performance space. Playful, informative artwork on trains would encourage a spirit of discovery in agreement with the Hong Kong Tourism Board.
It’s time for the real Hong Kong to be put on display. No one who visits the city can fail to be moved. It is one of the most exciting destinations in the world. Forget being “Asia’s World City”, let’s become “The Greatest Show on Earth”.
Vijay Verghese is a long-time journalist and columnist based in Hong Kong and editor of Smart Travel Asia and Asian Conversations
