Hong Kong firms should rethink plans to spur tourist spending rather than complain: minster

Hong Kong businesses should reflect on whether they have come up with innovative plans to encourage tourists to splash out, rather than merely lamenting the decline in visitor spending, a senior official has said.

Deputy Chief Secretary for Administration Warner Cheuk Wing-hing said on Sunday tourists were still keen to spend, but they had high expectations.

“We cannot just complain about why people aren’t spending money. It’s not that they don’t want to spend, there needs to be places where they find it worthwhile to spend,” he told a radio show.

“Tourists around the world have also developed higher expectations for travel, so we must reflect on whether our products are innovative and appealing enough.”

He said the trend of visitors, particularly those from mainland China, shifting towards diverse activities such as city walks increased the need for the sector to provide quality service to make tourists “feel at home”.

Responding to the remarks, lawmaker Peter Shiu Ka-fai, who represents the retail sector, noted operators needed to embrace innovation to enhance their standards, but staff shortages and strained workloads posed obstacles.