01 perspective
Written by: Comment Editor
2019-12-30 19:36
Last updated: 2019-12-30 19:41In 2007, the Hong Kong Tourism Board hosted the New Year's Day fireworks display for the first time. Since then, fireworks in Victoria Harbour have accompany countless Hong Kong people and tourists to welcome one after another the coming of the New Year. However, due to the recent social environment, the HKTB counts down on TV The program, a "play and win lottery game" and "final draw" with a total value of 4 million yuan, and an upgraded version of the "Symphony of Lights" large-scale light and music show combined with the bright fireworks on the roofs of many buildings. Although the fireworks are eye-catching, some people think that the HKTB's New Year's Day activities like a day are a little less sincere.
Some people are worried that if hundreds of thousands or even millions of visitors log on to the lucky draw page, the HKTB's web server may not be able to withstand the test. Others question whether the lucky draw and lighting show will reduce the motivation of foreign visitors to visit Hong Kong on New Year's Day. However, it is undeniable that the HKTB's attempt to make adjustments in accordance with the social atmosphere and bring about a new approach is also a breakthrough.
After all, at the peak of tourism such as resurrection, Christmas, and New Year, how to win tourists is the focus of the local tourism economy. However, for Hong Kong, there is a lot of competition to break through the surrounding areas: Japanese cherry blossoms are gorgeous around Easter; Christmas season, Southeast Asian style is beautiful; New Year's Day, Taipei 101's fireworks are also breathtaking. Therefore, if Hong Kong wants to attract tourists to many tourist sacred places, how can it remain unchanged and rely on fireworks alone.
Around Easter, the cherry blossoms in Japan are famous. (Reuters photo)
In fact, it is not just the competition with tourists in the surrounding areas during holidays. Hong Kong's tourism projects on weekdays are also in urgent need of new changes. Especially in the second half of this year, due to the changes in the social environment, the tourism industry is obviously affected. Comparing the HKTB's visitor data from January to October 2019, it can be seen that before July 2019, this year's visitor arrivals have been higher than the same period last year. In this regard, many people worry that Hong Kong's tourism industry is in a slump. However, the Tibetan machine in crisis is like the New Year's Day fireworks display. This can also be an opportunity for the HKTB to take advantage of this reform.
We have pointed out many times recently that tourism in Hong Kong is almost saturated. Japan, known for its tourism industry, had only 28.69 million visitors in 2017. However, during the same period, there were 27.88 million overnight visitors in Hong Kong, with a total of 58.47 million. The number of tourists nearly reached the upper limit of the city's carrying capacity. In the first half of 2018, the hotel occupancy rate in Hong Kong was 91%. The Sharing Economy Alliance has pointed out that the number of overnight guests in Hong Kong has increased by 65% in the past 10 years, but the supply of hotels and guesthouses has only increased by 42.6%. Excessive passengers not only affect the lives of local residents, but also the tourist experience of tourists, but also the stagnation of the tourism industry because of the inability to expand the land to provide more infrastructure, space, hotels, etc. to welcome tourists.
Similarly, Taiwan with a large number of tourists adjusted its strategy in a timely manner. Based on the overall policy and practical considerations, the Tourism Bureau of the Ministry of Communications mentioned in the "Taiwan Tourism 2020 Sustainable Development Strategy" that the development of the tourism industry no longer pursues quantitative growth, but instead uses in-depth tourism as the development of local tourism. Li Juwei, an associate professor in the Department of Economics and Finance at the City University of Hong Kong, also said in an earlier interview that "there is scarcity, reducing the number of tourists, improving the quality of attractions, and creating an unforgettable memory for tourists. The direction of development. "Therefore, whether Hong Kong can turn the crisis into an opportunity and seize this opportunity to transform Hong Kong's tourism from quantity to quality, the HKTB must pay attention to it and make timely adjustments.
On the other hand, there was also a crisis in the past when the tourism industry was too single and focused on shopping and tourism. Due to the large number of mainland tourists, especially those from neighboring areas, attracted by Hong Kong's zero-tariff shopping advantages, Hong Kong has sufficient customer support, and can rely on this shopping-based tourism development model, so it is too lazy to develop Other types of travel modes. However, at the same time, due to the lack of publicity and equipment for other humanistic and natural tourism in Hong Kong, the mainlanders who account for the majority of visitors to Hong Kong also only regard Hong Kong as a shopping mall, a vicious circle.
The Sun Yat-sen Historical Trail is a walking trail located in the Central and Western District of Hong Kong. As there has been no unified identification system, it is difficult for tourists to travel through it. It was not until 2018 that the HKTB completed the update and improvement. Hong Kong should make more excavation and promotion of such attractions to form a diversified tourism model. (Hong Kong Tourism Board Twitter)
The changes in the social environment may be affected by the number of shops, and the decline in mainland visitors far exceeds that of non-mainland visitors. In August this year, the number of tourists visiting Hong Kong dropped significantly, with more than 5.19 million in July falling to more than 3.59 million in August. Among them, Mainland visitors fell by about 33%, a decrease of more than 1.37 million compared to July, while non-Mainland visitors fell by almost 18%, a decrease of about 200,000. This one precisely illustrates the dangers of a single model of relying on shopping and tourism, and the second reminds the HKTB to take advantage of this painstaking effort to reform Hong Kong's tourism structure and allow the tourism industry to develop from a shopping experience that focuses on mainland tourists to one that can attract tourists from different regions. Diversified industries, creating a new situation.
Looking at the "Work Plan for 2019-20" of the HKTB, there is no drastic strategy adjustment or structural reform. The plan report still pays more attention to the mainland tourist market, and little attention has been paid to the issue of broadening the source of tourists. At the same time, in terms of improving service quality, it still stays more convenient for tourists through APP, information hotline, etc. The service and hardware congestion brought by the large number of tourists are not touched. This change in the social environment prompted the HKTB to make a new New Year's Day celebration attempt. However, in the face of the downturn in the external economy and the Sino-U.S. Trade war, the HKTB needs to make the same efforts to adjust the structure of Hong Kong's tourism industry. Strategy, take the chestnuts from the fire, turn crisis into opportunity.
Xi'an created a tourism theme based on the dream of returning to the Tang Dynasty. It built the Tang Dynasty never-night city on the original historical tourism resources and organized song and dance performances related to Tang culture. There is paradise on the upper reaches, and Hangzhou in the lower reaches of Suzhou and Hangzhou does not blindly wait for tourists. Instead, he took the initiative to combine the characteristics of the West Lake, set up a musical fountain show, tapped the history as the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty, and developed new Song-themed play items. So how can Hong Kong just wait for Victoria Peak and Victoria Harbour to expect tourists to flock to it? The HKTB must combine local human and natural resources to develop and promote more characteristic tourism projects in Hong Kong.
01 depth
Tourism Development Bureau Victoria Harbour Fireworks Tourism 01 Viewpoint