OBSERVATION: Hong Kong’s tourism industry has been battered due to social unrest and might require new solutions for the future to attract more broad market segments.
SOLUTION: Re-imagine the future tourism for Hong Kong through the creation of a long-term vision, leveraging the city’s existing strengths, establishing new initiatives, and upgrading the city’s infrastructure.
Countless visitors have remarked that there is nowhere on earth that is quite like Hong Kong. One of the most-visited places on the planet, Hong Kong’s geographical location, unique history, culture, colonial past and amazing adaptability can be further leveraged to provide a wide range of tourism opportunities to attract broad market segments from across the world.
While Mainland Chinese visitors currently, and will likely continue to dominate Hong Kong’s tourism scene, catering to a single source market is often risky. Hong Kong’s past moniker as a “shopping paradise” may have faded into the mists of time as the city grapples with how it should now reposition itself. Tourism destinations often need to reinvent themselves, especially after periods of poor performance, and Hong Kong is no exception.
Architect and hospitality consultant Thomas Schmidt, AIA of Sepia Design Consultants Limited ponders a few initiatives that might diversify tourism and reposition Hong Kong over the years to come:
TOURISM IDEAS – RETAIL:
LUXURY GOODS:
Luxury brands in Hong Kong have enjoyed a high degree of success in recent years from affluent Mainland Chinese visitors; however, obtaining genuine articles is becoming more widespread north of the border.
- Outlook: Will this retail sector shrink in the future and be supplanted by something else over the longer term?
- Alliances: Could existing luxury retail brands create new alliances with hotels and restaurants to extend and strengthen their brand?
HANDICRAFTS:
Hong Kong is no longer the manufacturing center it once was, but are there still opportunities to produce unique products that appeal to visitors? Tai O and other outlying islands produce shrimp paste and other locally-produced agricultural products which often result in hungry tourists making pilgrimages to these picturesque corners of the territory.
- Local Products: Could there be a resurgence of “Made in Hong Kong” unique food products and handicrafts that are produced locally?
- Incentives: Could the Government encourage more locally-produced products?
- Branding: Could some of the outlying islands brand themselves better through locally-produced island-specific products that would stimulate visitation?
HONG KONG BAZAAR:
Hong Kong has pockets of thriving night markets across the city, including the Ladies’ Market and Stanley Market, among many others.
- Bazaar: Could a permanent “grand bazaar” be created in a section of the city that would rival Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar, or Bangkok’s famed night markets?
- Universal Appeal: Could such a hive of activity have universal appeal and become an attraction for both residents and tourists alike?
COUNTERFEITS:
A major incentive for Mainland Chinese visitors to shop in Hong Kong is the confidence of purchasing genuine and legitimate goods in a land awash with counterfeit products north of the border. However, once that confidence disappears, it is gone forever.
- Current Efforts: Could the Government increase its already admirable efforts in stamping out counterfeit goods across the city?
- Penalties: Could new harsher penalties be implemented across the retail sector to discourage the sales of counterfeit goods?
- Screening: Could new minimally invasive advanced screening technologies be deployed at Hong Kong airport and numerous immigration points to automatically screen incoming luggage?
- Trading: Could the current controversial parallel trading activities at Hong Kong’s northern border be better addressed?
While the above ideas are by no means an exhaustive listing, it is hoped they will provide food for thought as to how Hong Kong might reinvent itself relative to future tourism.