Retail therapy was such a reliable driver of Hong Kong tourism that few in the business contemplated the need for diversity. Why fix a wheel that wasn’t broken? Luxury brands gobbled up prime space, muscling out local designers and innovation. Now, that well-oiled wheel is grinding to a halt and klaxons are sounding. Yet it is not too late for the city to end its haute couture strut.
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A strong Hong Kong dollar and the dwindling allure of monoculture shopping has seen retail drop from 51 per cent of overnight tourism receipts in 2018 to 41 per cent in the first six months of 2024.
Flogging this dead horse will yield diminishing returns. To bring in international travellers, Hong Kong must go local. It is time for this richly endowed enclave to tap its enormous array of natural beauty and local food and culture.
According to the Tourism Board, most of the city’s top 10 places most visited by overnight visitors have been unchanged over the past decade. The government has responded with a tourism blueprint for growth, betting on events, pandas and new recreation zones. Tellingly, Xia Baolong, who oversees Hong Kong and Macau affairs for Beijing, put his finger on it when he said simply, “Tourism is everywhere in Hong Kong”.
Hong Kong does not need a host of new attractions. The place, its people and food are the attraction. But it needs revitalising and smart marketing.
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The New Territories, stretching beautiful and wild across the north, encapsulate the essence of Hong Kong. Much of this is an untamed wilderness brimming with adventure. In a city built on stirring tales of piracy and plunder, this vast district offers a romantic swathe of windswept hills, beaches, temples, historic villages, wetlands, organic farms and dai pai dong. Its guileless charm offers a window into a fast fading way of life.