Author: Zhou Chunling, member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, executive chairman of Hong Kong Gaosheng Fund
In the past December 2023, Hong Kong set two immigration records. One was that the number of tourists entering Hong Kong set a post-epidemic single-day record, and the other was that the number of Hong Kong departures set a single-month record.
On the basis of understanding these two records, we can find some directions for our efforts in the next stage.
1. The rise of the “special forces” model and the industry’s lack of psychological preparation
First, last weekend, Hong Kong’s New Year’s Eve countdown fireworks display was staged, attracting 480,000 citizens and tourists to watch on both sides of Victoria Harbor.
On December 31, about 270,000 tourists entered Hong Kong, setting a single-day record since the epidemic.
However, tens of thousands of tourists made up their mind to return on the same day, preferring to sleep on the street all night to rush back instead of renting a hotel for one night, revealing the latest change in the current tourism consumption model, namely the rapid rise of the “special forces model”.
“Special Forces Mode” is a high-intensity, high-efficiency, low-cost way to travel. Simply put, it means using the shortest time, spending the least money, seeing the most scenery, and eating the most variety of food.
The main theme of the process is “travel quickly, travel more and sleep less”.
The “grandmaster” in “Special Forces” is Xu Xiake.
As a famous traveler, writer and geographer in the Ming Dynasty, he usually got up at five o’clock in the morning and set off at six o’clock in the morning. He often had lunch in the afternoon. Sometimes he was busy climbing and trekking, or even didn’t eat.
Sleeping on a bed on the ground, eating dry food, and wearing civilian clothes were his normal routine during the journey.
Similar to “Xu Xiake’s Travels”, which Xu Xiake wrote in 20 volumes on the way, travelers who adopt the “special forces model” in the Internet era “emphasis on display and not on experience”. Whenever they visit a place, they will immediately check in and take photos and post them online.
“Travel around the world to check in and eat all the delicious food in Kyushu.”
This “special forces model” was demonstrated for the first time on New Year’s Eve. Hong Kong’s tourism industry was completely unprepared, and Hong Kong’s transportation and other departments were even more unprepared.
2. “Compensatory tourism demand” imposes real economic pressure
The second record concerns the number of departures. Judging from the figures for the past month, more than 7.7 million people departed from Hong Kong through land and sea ports in December 2023, which is the highest single-month outbound number since Hong Kong began reporting statistics in 1984.
Hong Kong people are traveling abroad in large numbers to the mainland and other destinations in search of better shopping and entertainment options.
The reason behind this is that the current post-epidemic “compensatory tourism demand” has always been subject to real economic pressure. Regardless of whether they are leaving or arriving in Hong Kong, even if the consumption willingness of citizens and tourists has recovered, their spending power may not be able to keep up soon.
This is a reality that the Hong Kong industry should recognize and must face.
3. We should be afraid of the word “carefulness” in everything. There is still a lot of work we can do
The bright night sky has returned to calm during the New Year’s Eve, and the queues at cross-border stations have gradually dispersed. What is left to the Hong Kong society are valuable experiences and lessons. This is the biggest gain we hope to gain from holding large-scale events. Generally speaking, there are three aspects:
Firstbefore making a decision, it is necessary to fully investigate the changes in the current group of tourists arriving in Hong Kong and their travel habits, so as to make a sound decision.
“Little Sugar Orange” made Harbin popular, can “Northwest Sheep Baby” become popular in Hong Kong?
In response to the segmented travel needs of the “special forces model”, the tourism industry can launch personalized travel products suitable for young people while the market is hot.
In particular, managers of popular “check-in” destinations must provide tourism products, demand control and publicity guidance for short-term and large-scale influx of tourists, and improve the depth and quality of tourism products.
The MTR, bus companies, and customs should also provide more protection for this wave of travel consumption, protect this enthusiasm for tourism that is full of curiosity about Hong Kong’s culture and scenery, and provide corresponding travel services and services to meet their unique travel needs. Assure.
The entire society must also treat “special forces tourists” with tolerance and create a tolerant and friendly social environment so that various tourist groups can visit and spend money in Hong Kong according to their own wishes and conditions, come and return with pleasure.secondin the digital economy, consumption formats and payment methods have undergone earth-shaking changes, and the government and industry must compete with the changes.
In view of the rapid development of electronic payment systems in the mainland, the use of electronic payments has become a habit for mainland consumers.
After subways, buses and trams have installed electronic payment devices, the government can consider more actively promoting the installation of electronic payment systems in the taxi industry and negotiating and cooperating with electronic payment operators including but not limited to Alipay, WeChat Pay, Octopus, credit cards, etc. Create more convenient travel conditions for tourists.
For example, simple signs can be posted on the bodies of some taxis that accept electronic payments to facilitate passengers’ identification and selection.
third, strengthen and create synergy effects. It is necessary to think carefully about what else can attract tourists and cooperate with highly attractive activities such as New Year’s Eve fireworks.
Yesterday I saw that Hong Kong Disneyland will hold the “Wonderful Year” New Year celebration of the Year of the Dragon during the New Year, and will also invite world-renowned pianist Lang Lang to perform a number of Disney classics.
If different organizations can organize creative activities such as “Wonderful Year” three days before and after the Lunar New Year fireworks display, tourists will naturally stay, and the half-day tour will become a three-day tour.
In addition to accommodation consumption, it can also drive the growth of a series of consumption such as catering, retail, tourism, and transportation.
Last year, Hong Kong started a wonderful year with the “Hello! Hong Kong” campaign.
In the new year, focusing on tourists’ needs for food, accommodation, transportation, travel, shopping, entertainment, etc., we can also consider launching new tourist attraction projects such as Hong Kong welcome and dedicated check-in lines, so that every tourist and citizen can Have fun, live comfortably, and travel smoothly.
This also echoes Du Fu’s sentence – “The flower path has never been swept by visitors, but now the gate is opened for you.”
Jiansi Think Tank
**Blog articles are written at your own responsibility and do not represent the position of our company**
Author: Zhou Chunling, member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, executive chairman of Hong Kong Gaosheng Fund
The 28th regular meeting between the Prime Ministers of China and Russia was held on the afternoon of December 19. Friends who follow international diplomacy may have noticed that the “Communique” after last week’s meeting once again emphasized that the two sides will enhance the development of bilateral relations. vitality”.
This dynamic is reflected in the fact that the two countries will expand areas of cooperation and reduce barriers or obstacles to cultivate new economic growth points and new development momentum.
The “Communique” particularly focused on China and Russia’s efforts to strengthen cooperation in digital and low-carbon fields.
As the global digitalization process accelerates, China and Russia, as important global economies and technological powers, have broad potential for cooperation in the field of digital economy.
Russia has always been unwilling to lag behind in the digital field. The Russian government has raised the development of digital economy to a national strategic level. It needs to cooperate more with China in terms of technology and market. This may be the most feasible and feasible new strategic field for Russia to develop at present. Plans are also being put into effect.
It is worth noting that while the crisis of the Russia-Ukraine conflict has not yet passed, President Putin is investing huge amounts of money, resources, and policies in economic stimulation in preparation for the domestic election in March next year.
This is exactly an opportunity that China should seize and strive for greater bargaining space in the market opening in new areas such as the digital economy.
This can actually be seen in this communiqué.
The two sides agreed to strive to revise the “China-Russia Investment Cooperation Plan Outline” in 2024 and accelerate the completion of upgrade negotiations of the “Agreement between the Government of the People’s Republic of China and the Government of the Russian Federation on the Promotion and Mutual Protection of Investments.”
I published two articles on Central Asia and the Middle East at the end of May and in mid-October. The logic is always consistent. They both hope to explore “how to do a good job in growth in the context of the increasingly fierce competition for stocks among the world’s major economies.” .
The previous two articles started from the perspective of how to find partners in different regions, and this article hopes to discuss how China will do everything possible and show its unique talents in new fields, new technologies, etc., through cooperation with Cooperate with partner countries, including Russia, to create new economic growth points.
Here, I would like to start from the basic characteristics of the digital industry and discuss the four obstacles that China and Russia have faced or will still face in the past.
One isData sovereignty requirements are a key concern for Russia, which require the protection and control of domestic data in digital economic cooperation.
This could lead to some additional protectionist measures that restrict or regulate cross-border data flows.
two isData storage requirements.
Consideration needs to be given to how Russia’s data will be stored and processed within its own borders. This may have an adverse impact on domestic operators’ traditional business models such as cloud computing.
The third isRussia has strong censorship and supervision of digital economic data. This may raise concerns about data privacy for all parties involved.
Finally, there are barriers to technical standards. If Russia does not give up its emphasis on local technologies and standards, it may lead to deviations from my country’s usual standards and technical specifications, limiting the exchange of digital technologies between the two sides.
However, it is important to note that these negative impacts do not mean that collaboration cannot proceed or be fruitful.
Digital economic cooperation can still overcome these challenges by building mutual trust, strengthening communication and cooperation mechanisms, and developing common data security standards.
In order to promote the cooperative development of the digital economy between the two sides, it is first necessary to strengthen the construction of digital infrastructure.
This includes improving internet connection speed and stability to ensure reliable network services.
At the same time, network coverage should be expanded, especially in rural Russia and the Far East, to provide widespread network access to ensure the inclusiveness of the digital economy and the depth of the market.
Telecom operators in mainland China and Hong Kong can cooperate with telecom operators such as Russia’s Rostelecom to promote the construction of Internet infrastructure, such as the construction of cross-border optical cable networks in the border areas between China and Russia.
In order to promote digital innovation and entrepreneurship, China and Russia can strengthen the construction of innovation ecosystems. This includes setting up incubators and technology parks to provide support and resources to attract more innovative businesses and startups.
In addition, China and Russia can strengthen cooperation between scientific research institutions and universities, jointly carry out cutting-edge scientific research and technology transfer, and promote the innovative development of the digital economy.
Cross-border e-commerce is one of the important areas of digital economic cooperation.
In 2016, the e-commerce penetration rate in the Russian market was only 5%. Now this number has grown to 17.2%. It is expected that the e-commerce penetration rate in the Russian market will reach 32% by 2027.
Take the Russian e-commerce brand Ozon as an example. The company’s annual sales this year have increased by more than 34 times compared with 2017. It has also attracted more than 40,000 Chinese sellers to participate in sales. It has cooperated with Chinese companies such as China Post and JD Logistics to launch Products such as Ozon ePacket.
China has been Russia’s largest trading partner for 14 consecutive years. China and Russia can continue to cooperate to expand the scale of the cross-border e-commerce market, lower trade barriers, and improve the level of trade facilitation.
Companies such as Russia’s Qiwi have rich experience in the field of digital payments, and China’s electronic payment platforms can cooperate with them in the field of digital payments and logistics to ensure the smooth operation of each platform’s business.
As mentioned above, data cooperation and privacy protection are also important issues that cannot be avoided in China-Russia digital economic cooperation.
China and Russia need to formulate a legal framework to strengthen data security and privacy protection as soon as possible, reach consensus on relevant policies and standards, release the possibility of cooperation, and promote data sharing and cooperation on the basis of protecting user information and data security.
In the long run, both parties will also strengthen the joint cultivation of technology and talents during the cooperation process. China and Russia can increase joint investment in technological research and development and innovation capabilities, and jointly cultivate and attract talents with professional knowledge in the digital field.
By strengthening talent training and exchanges, we will address technical challenges and promote in-depth cooperation.
2024-01-08 06:53:46
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