The Hong Kong government announced on the 21st that it will hold approximately 106 events in the second half of this year, together with the 108 events in the first half, making a total of 214 events throughout the year. Legislator Jiang Yuhuan expressed concerns during an interview with a Hong Kong media outlet this morning, fearing that the events might be too densely packed or done for the sake of having events, and advocated for focusing on key activities to establish a clear image for Hong Kong.
Jiang Yuhuan admitted that tourists may not necessarily come to Hong Kong for the events organized by the government. With the number of events this year exceeding 210, equivalent to holding an event every two days, for tourists, too many activities can lead to a loss of focus, fragmentation, event fatigue, and even complaints from citizens that not every activity qualifies as a major event.
She further pointed out that the focus should be on making Hong Kong shine, “not organizing events just for the sake of it.” Tourists do not travel to the same place on a long-term or monthly basis, so when planning, it may be worth considering concentrating certain activities to be held within a few weeks. She stressed that a city should focus on doing things that are advantageous and beneficial to economic development, not every city needs to host events; for example, Vienna focuses on promoting only two things, music and coffee, while Istanbul attracts tourists with its history.
Moreover, Jiang Yuhuan also believes that the government’s event blueprint should have a focus and priority; the quantity aspect can be reconsidered. At the same time, she mentioned that citizen participation is currently low, and therefore proposed taking inspiration from Scotland, which conducts extensive surveys on events and gives more voice to citizens to provide feedback.
As for the government’s disclosure that it is in discussions with the team behind the film “Kowloon Walled City: The Siege of City”, preserving and resetting some of the factory scenes for citizens and visitors to visit, the Hong Kong Film Workers Association spokesperson, Tian Qiw
en, welcomed the government’s attention to local films. However, in practice, consideration needs to be given to scale and safety issues.
He explained that movie sets are assembled and not necessarily complete, so if there is a need to restore scenes, there must first be sufficient resources and determination. Additionally, safety considerations for sets and “photo spots” will vary because set designs focus on easy disassembly, whereas transforming them into “photo spots” needs to consider safety and crowd control, describing it as a “different ball game”.
The Secretary for Commerce, Culture, and Tourism Bureau, Yeung Yun-hung, mentioned in a recent interview with a newspaper that they are currently considering establishing a “task force” to gather talents from within the government and industry experts for in-depth discussions on important projects to realize the concept of “Hong Kong, a place for tourism everywhere.” Preliminary ideas for new tourist attractions include island tourism, horse racing tourism, film locations, and shooting locations, as well as promoting hospitality and etiquette across all sectors.
Yeung Yun-hung pointed out that Hong Kong already has many unique and suitable spots for deep travel. They have always promoted tourism routes focusing on heritage, history, creative culture, and green ecology, and in the future, they will pursue further exploration in this direction, such as promoting island tours or turning horse racing into a tourism activity.
He also believes that movies can drive tourism. Last year, they did a tram tour project where passengers took a tram from Sai Ying Pun to Causeway Bay with a guide introducing locations where films were shot. Recently, the movie “Kowloon Walled City: The Siege of City” was selected for the Cannes Film Festival, and Yeung Yun-hung received feedback from the industry, suggesting that some of the filming locations be showcased for citizens to view. The government will reach out to relevant parties to explore cooperation opportunities and study the feasibility of a longer-term exhibition.
He emphasized that tourists’ preferences and the surrounding competitive environment are changing, and Hong Kong needs to innovate and change accordingly. Considering combining film and tourism elements to attract tourists to visit iconic movie locations. Yeung Yun-hung also mentioned their plans to promote hospitality throughout various sectors, including retail, dining, transportation, and education, to showcase a different side of Hong Kong.
He believes that since tourists will be traveling everywhere, it means that small businesses in the region also have the opportunity to serve tourists. Therefore, fostering hospitality needs to extend into the community and even schools to instill politeness in Hong Kong residents from a young age.