This spring, Hong Kong's cultural and tourism market is warm. The latest data released by the Hong Kong Tourism Development Bureau showed that in the first quarter of this year, about 12.2 million tourists visited Hong Kong, an increase of 9% year-on-year. A series of grand events such as the Basel Art Exhibition and the International Seven-man Rugby Tour have been held one after another. Various fancy tourism scenes such as "Traveling Hong Kong with Hong Kong dramas" and "Off-island Tour" have been widely sought after, all of which demonstrate Hong Kong's unique charm and huge attraction as an international metropolis, and show the new vitality of Hong Kong's cultural and tourism industry.
The prosperity of Hong Kong's cultural and tourism market is inseparable from the strong support of the central government and the mainland of the motherland. Last year, the central government introduced a series of measures to benefit Hong Kong. The number of cities in mainland China's "personal tours" to Hong Kong and Macao has expanded twice, increasing to 59 cities, and all provincial capital cities have been included; the duty-free amount of mainland residents and passengers carrying luggage from Hong Kong to the mainland was "increased", from 5,000 yuan to 12,000 yuan; the policy of "one sign-on multiple tours" for residents in Shenzhen City, Guangdong Province to travel to Hong Kong is implemented... A series of measures have provided strong support for the development of Hong Kong's cultural and tourism industry.
The prosperity of Hong Kong's cultural and tourism industry is also inseparable from the active innovation and continuous efforts of the SAR government and the industry. The SAR government and the tourism industry have focused on the three keywords of "recognizing changes, adapting to changes, and seeking change", and promoted the quality and upgrading of the tourism industry, so that Hong Kong can gradually achieve the transformation from "inviting tourists" to "staying tourists", and further released the consumption potential of tourists, bringing the effectiveness of "promoting people and wealth".
——Only by "recognizing changes" can you accurately grasp the new trends and new characteristics of the development of the tourism industry. Today, "the demand for tourists has changed" has become a consensus in the Hong Kong tourism industry. From the perspective of age structure, the number of young people visiting Hong Kong has increased, while the number of elderly people has decreased; from the perspective of tourism methods, the number of "group tours" has decreased, and the number of "in-depth tours" has increased; from the perspective of consumption, the number of "shopping" scenarios has decreased, and the number of entertainment consumption has increased.
The data released by the Hong Kong Tourism Development Bureau recently showed that last year, the entertainment consumption of overnight tourists visiting Hong Kong in the mainland increased by 61.3% to HK$4.19 billion, and visiting exhibitions, watching dramas, and listening to concerts have become a new trend for mainland tourists to visit Hong Kong. Changes in market demand have prompted Hong Kong to adjust its strategy to transform from the traditional "shopping + tourism" to "in-depth tour", "special tour" and "experience tour".
——Only by "constraint" can further improve the overall level and competitiveness of the industry. In the face of these new changes, how can Hong Kong "take on"? On the one hand, the SAR government actively implements the concept of "Hong Kong is omnipresent in tourism", integrates Chinese and Western elements in response to different seasons, festivals and events, and plans in-depth tourism products with a more "Hong Kong flavor"; on the other hand, the whole people participate in the creation of a "humanity capital", provide corresponding tourism supporting facilities, and provide passengers with more considerate services.
In the first half of this year, Hong Kong held nearly 100 major events, covering culture, art and creativity, sports, large-scale conferences and exhibitions. The SAR government announced the event arrangements in advance, encouraged operators to make arrangements in advance and provide enthusiastic services, and fully grasp the business opportunities brought by the event. The government "sets the stage" and the industry "shows the show", and "popularity" turns into "wealth", which is expected to bring about HK$3.3 billion in consumption and approximately HK$1.8 billion in economic added value to Hong Kong.
——Only by "seeking change" can we open up broad space for the future development of Hong Kong's tourism industry. In recent years, the SAR government has joined hands with the industry to seek change through innovation and actively seek a "breakdown" way to transform and upgrade the industry. The "Blueprint for the Development of Hong Kong Tourism Industry 2.0" released at the end of last year has anchored the direction of the development of Hong Kong's tourism industry in the next five years. It proposes 133 measures of four major development strategies, fully demonstrating Hong Kong's tourism firm determination to "innovate" and "seek change".
The high-quality development of the cultural and tourism industry cannot be separated from the support of "hardware" and "software". In terms of "hardware", Hong Kong continues to improve cultural and tourism infrastructure and make good use of large venues such as Kai Tak Sports Park; in terms of "software", vigorously promote the "hospitality" and improve the service level of the hotel, catering, retail and other industries, so that every visitor to Hong Kong can feel the strong "fireworks" and "humanity flavor".
The development of Hong Kong's cultural and tourism industry has good innate conditions, with resources such as historical sites, green ecological tours, and blue sea tours. The times have created the integration and collision of Chinese and foreign cultures, creating a unique urban charm for Hong Kong. Many people like Hong Kong not only because of the brilliance of Victoria Harbor, nor because of the convenience of shopping in the Causeway Bay business district, but also because they fall in love with the unique and diverse cultural atmosphere, the Hong Kong-style culture and the city fireworks that permeate every street corner. Hong Kong is not only a destination that can be "going around", but also a city worth visiting many times and repeatedly exploring and exploring.
Accurately "recognize change, respond to change, and seek change", Hong Kong will surely polish the "golden business card" of cultural and tourism, show more vigorous vitality and vitality, and consolidate and enhance the status of "world-class preferred tourist destination" with a more open, inclusive and charming attitude.
