HK needs to improve its tourist appeal: Paul Chan
Financial Secretary Paul Chan said on Sunday that Hong Kong must continue to improve its attractiveness to tourists, even as the number of arrivals rebounds. His comments came after the city received about 3.6 million visitors last month, up 30 per cent from June. Writing on his blog, Chan said inbound tourism would remain the main driver of economic growth for the rest of the year, along with private consumption, and Hong Kong needed to step up its game to attract tourists. "Many tourists, especially the young ones, come to Hong Kong mainly to attend exhibitions, cultural and artistic activities or major concerts," he wrote. "This change in travel and consumption patterns means that we need to deliver what our tourists value: the features, creativity and quality of products and services, as well as the user experience." The official said the authorities would also work with the private sector to revive the night-time economy to consolidate the recovery. Former financial services secretary Chan Ka-keung also said the SAR needed to step up its promotional efforts to attract visitors. "A lot of the people still - because of the slow economic activities - are not travelling much. It's not just Hong Kong not receiving tourists, many countries in Asia aren't receiving tourists either," he told reporters after a radio programme. "But Hong Kong of course has another problem, which is because of the propaganda from the western media, a lot of people don't understand Hong Kong... We should host more exhibitions and conferences, get more people to come to Hong Kong to see for themselves." Separately, Professor Chan said Hong Kong must improve itself as a platform for companies to go public now that the United States is restricting investment in some tech companies in China. He said even non-tech investors may become more cautious, but they may still come to Hong Kong if the city offers good returns. His views were echoed by Paul Chan. The FS emphasised that international investors prioritise locations that offer favorable investment opportunities and promising returns. He said the government would continue to draw in more investors and funds, capitalise on its financial strength to facilitate co-investment in diverse forms and drive the progress of innovation and technology within Hong Kong. He added that the United States' "unreasonable and overbearing" suppression will only make Hong Kong more determined to promote the IT industry.