Hong Kong should step up its efforts to collect, share and make use of visitor data, lawmakers have said, as they discussed a motion aimed at strengthening the city’s status as an international tourism hub and its position as a world-class destination.
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Presenting the non-binding motion on Thursday, tourism lawmaker Perry Yiu Pak-leung called on authorities to collect more detailed data as currently the industry was like the tale of “the blind men and the elephant”.
Yiu was referring to the parable in which a group of blind men each touch a different part of an elephant and describe it based solely on their limited experience, leading to incomplete and conflicting understandings.
“Currently, the government only publicly releases basic data from the Immigration Department and Tourism Board questionnaire surveys,” he said.
He said there were significant gaps in available information, especially the absence of outbound travel data for Hong Kong residents.
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“Key metrics such as tourist gender, age, entry and exit patterns, mobility habits, the provincial origin of mainland Chinese tourists and the types of visas held cannot be ascertained,” he added.