Collaboration needed to boost tourism and consumption
Representatives from the catering, hotel and retail industry on Monday urged the government to implement new measures including AI-generated itineraries and "island-hopping" activities, as a means of boosting consumption and tourism given that many of sectors had not fully recovered from the pandemic. Lawmaker Eunice Yung said authorities should take advantage of the summer vacation period to attract tourists. She said a big data platform would allow sectors to better understand tourists' needs, adding that an "AI-tourism ambassador" would also personalise the vacation experience. "We need a big data platform to keep all these mega events or what we can [do] to provide support for these mega events. We need an AI travel ambassador to promote and to give a good and accurate routine or travel itinerary for the tourists even if they want to stay for a longer time," she said.  Meanwhile, Simon Wong, president of the Hong Kong Federation of Restaurants and Related Trades, said the government should consider dispersing mega events to different parts of the SAR so that more businesses can benefit.  He added that authorities can also take advantage of Hong Kong waters for tourism activities. "We can have some activities on those [outlying] islands, but if we can link up all these islands so that Hong Kong can be a hub for hopping to different islands. Each island can have different activities, but this is a long-term project and we have to put a lot of investment in that," he said. "I don't find any similar places in the world, which has so many islands, which we can use it as an aquatic hub for tourists and also for people in Hong Kong. If we are close to the sea, we have to think of something with the activities, which is related to the sea." Caspar Tsui, executive director of the Federation of Hong Kong Hotel Owners, hopes the government could get the sectors more involved with mega events in the SAR after the government announced an increase in these events from 150 to 210, adding that Hong Kong offers the "best package" for tourists with high-quality hotels, retail and restaurants.