The return of international cruise ships to Hong Kong is just a stop on the way back to normal

After more than three years of the epidemic, Hong Kong finally welcomed an international cruise ship full of foreign tourists again. The Secretary of Culture, Sports and Tourism Yang Runxiong, the Commissioner of Tourism Affairs Shen Fengjun and the Chairman of the Tourism Board Peng Yaojia specially came to welcome the arrival of the cruise ship. Distribute souvenirs.

This is of course another sign that Hong Kong is moving towards "return to normal". Government officials believe that as long as the epidemic does not turn back, Hong Kong's tourism industry will be able to return to its "heyday".

However, is it really that simple to attract tourists to come back to Hong Kong?

This Wednesday (January 18), the Royal Caribbean Group's Silversea Cruises "Silver Spirit" entered Victoria Harbor from Lei Yue Mun, was greeted by fire boats spraying water, and will berth at Tsim Sha Tsui Ocean Terminal for one night.

Yang Runxiong told the media after the welcoming ceremony that the return of international cruise ships to Hong Kong is of symbolic significance. The authorities will continue to strengthen the promotion of the cruise industry in the future and strive for more cruise companies to set up home ports or offices in Hong Kong.

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Don't Forget Cruise Hub Plans

However, it must not be forgotten that long before the COVID-19 epidemic and social unrest, the development of the cruise industry in Hong Kong was hardly satisfactory.

The Hong Kong government had planned to build a "cruise hub" in the past, but the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal, which was completed in 2013, had less than half of the days of cruise ships berthing in the whole year in 2017, and only one cruise ship was berthing. About a month and a half.

The estimate that the cruise industry could bring Hong Kong an annual economic benefit of 1.5 billion to 2.6 billion in 2023 sounds like a big joke today.

The impact of the epidemic has caused cruise companies to liquidate or withdraw from Hong Kong. In fact, it only accelerates the wrong direction of promoting the cruise industry in Hong Kong.

For example, before Dream Cruises under Genting Hong Kong ceased operations last year, its "World Dream" has been using "high seas tour" for many short trips, filling more than half of the berthing record at Kai Tak Cruise Terminal.

This situation shows that in recent years, the Hong Kong government has concentrated on promoting "high seas tours" that focus on local home games, which will not help the construction of a "cruise hub".

The key factor for other competitors to catch up and surpass Hong Kong is undoubtedly the government's lack of long-term planning thinking.

At the beginning, Kai Tak's "Park Tour City" was reduced to a dead city due to poor management and lack of traffic. However, the nearby large grasslands and other environments attracted many citizens and became an attractive leisure place. The authorities should take advantage of the situation to rebuild related services and transportation facilities. Unfortunately, The development of this area has repeatedly missed the opportunity. Even the adjacent "Environmental Connection System" monorail was stillborn. During the epidemic, the grassland was also converted into an epidemic prevention facility.

On February 20 last year, the government began to build a shelter hospital and isolation facilities in the open space of the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal.

(Photo by Lu Yiming)

Development cannot stop at normality

When talking about the "Silver Spirit" coming to Hong Kong, Yang Runxiong said that as long as "normal" does not go back, he believes that tourists will be gradually attracted back to Hong Kong, and the number of tourists will return to the "heyday" before the epidemic.

The question is, can Hong Kong before the epidemic really be considered a "heyday"?

Hong Kong once again ushered in international cruise ships, and the tourism industry in the cold winter is expected to recover. Although it is exciting news for the society, it does not mean that we can be blinded by it and lower the goal to just "return to normal" to the pre-epidemic level.

Of course, the relevant phenomena are not limited to cruise ships and tourism. Other areas such as land construction, innovation and technology development, land-port exchanges, civic education, and repairing social rifts should not be forgotten just because Hong Kong is about to return to normal. Repair the many holes that appeared long ago before the epidemic.

After all, "returning to normal" is only the first step after getting out of the epidemic. We must not let the temporary stagnation lead us to the wrong end. We must keep in mind that the real goal is to enable Hong Kong to embark on a development road where everyone lives and works in peace.

Hong Kong has cleared the customs, but the tourists have not come back. The Peak Tram is refurbished and reopened. Hong Kong tourism needs transformation and development.