China News Service, Hong Kong, January 28, Title: Hong Kong is making efforts to reshape itself as the “City of Events”
China News Service reporter Xiang Luping
“We hope to promote the event economy, attract more visitors to Hong Kong, and turn ‘popularity’ into ‘wealth’.” At the “Chief Executive’s Interactive Question and Answer Session” held in the Legislative Council a few days ago, Hong Kong SAR Chief Executive Lee Ka-chiu said that according to general It is estimated that every 1.5 million tourists visiting Hong Kong can bring about 0.1% economic growth.
Mega events can bring huge economic benefits to Hong Kong, and the tourism and consumer industries can even benefit from them. Since Hong Kong resumed full “customs clearance” at the beginning of last year, major events have been held in Hong Kong almost every month: “Hong Kong Night” has brought excitement to the city; celebrity concerts and international brand fashion exhibitions have been held one after another; world-class sports events have been held one after another. Pounds are “coming”; many international financial giants gathered in Hong Kong… The passenger flow of major scenic spots, merchants and hotels has increased significantly. The latest data released by the Hong Kong Tourism Board shows that preliminary statistics on the number of tourists visiting Hong Kong in 2023 are 34 million visitors.
Taking advantage of the trend, the SAR government recently announced that more than 150 major events will be held throughout 2024, covering various fields such as culture and art, finance and sports. The number of major events and activities is “wave after wave”, adding another “new firewood” to ignite Hong Kong’s “City of Events”.
It is worth mentioning that attracting visitors to Hong Kong through grand events is just the beginning. How to move from “attracting visitors” to “keeping visitors”, so that “instant success” can continue to “become popular all the way”, and let “popularity” gather “Wealth” will once again polish Hong Kong’s business card as an “international metropolis”? The SAR government has stepped up the practice of “internal strength” at multiple levels.
First, improve visitor experience and turn “traffic” into “retention”. The preparation and organization of major events require a large amount of resource investment and coordination, and will also put a certain amount of pressure on the city’s transportation and environmental infrastructure. This requires reasonable planning and management of the impact of activities on traffic flow and the environment to avoid “leaving guests behind” Become a “stranded guest”.
As the Spring Festival approaches, more and more tourists are embarking on trips to return home and visit relatives. In order to avoid a recurrence of the large number of mainland tourists stranded in Hong Kong during New Year’s Day, the SAR Government has reached a consensus with the Shenzhen Municipal Government to extend the customs clearance time at some ports during the Lunar New Year, leaving the convenience of traveling freely to tourists.
Secondly, we should fully tap into our own characteristics and make Hong Kong’s urban development “prosperous all the way”. The SAR government has made great efforts to develop major events. For example, Hong Kong will hold the “The Great Hero – Jin Yong’s Centenary Birth” event this year, which will exhibit Jin Yong’s character sculptures; ComplexCon, the world’s largest trendy cultural event, will “jump out of the United States” for the first time. “, came to Hong Kong.
As an international metropolis, Hong Kong combines the characteristics of Eastern and Western cultures, including traditional Chinese culture and international modern art and pop culture. This makes Hong Kong uniquely competitive and attractive in the cultural industry. .
However, what needs attention is that hard work on “internal strength” and exploring advantages and potential are only the beginning for Hong Kong. There is still a long way to go before “popularity” can be turned into “wealth”. In the past, Hong Kong was famous around the world as a “shopping paradise”. However, with the changes in tourists’ travel and consumption patterns, more Hong Kong people now choose to “leave Hong Kong and go to Shenzhen” to go north for shopping. After the epidemic, mainland tourists in Hong Kong have also changed their focus to The old model that comes from shopping is to choose in-depth cultural tours and “check in” at Hong Kong’s characteristic scenic spots.
This year, winter ice and snow tourism has made Harbin a new “top” tourist city, and the hit drama “Flowers” has given Shanghai cultural tourism a “good start.” A city’s “exit” is never a static result, but a process of progress, change and innovation that keeps pace with the times. The SAR government also needs to think about how to strengthen publicity and promotion to unlock its own “event economy” code, so that the reputation of the “event city” can be spread further and louder, so that tourists are willing to come again and again. (over)
Editor: Zhang Juan
#Hong #Kong #Guanlan #Hong #Kong #making #efforts #reshape #city #grand #events #West #China #Network #Shaanxi #News #Network
2024-01-29 01:07:00
