Hong Kong welcomes 40 tourism representatives from mainland Chinese cities to promote expanded solo travel scheme
- City’s tourism minister welcomes group as part of efforts to boost visitor numbers under recently expanded solo traveller scheme
- Mainland representatives will share experiences with their fellow residents and promote travel to Hong Kong, he says
Around 40 tourism sector representatives and media from eight mainland Chinese cities recently added to a solo travel scheme have arrived for an “in-depth exploration” of Hong Kong, with a government minister saying their trip will help to bring in more visitors.
The group arrived on Sunday on a five-day, four-night itinerary and will visit various attractions including Central Market, Tai Kwun, Hong Kong Disneyland, Ocean Park, Hong Kong Palace Museum and M+.
They are in the city as part of an expansion of the Individual Visit Scheme, in which residents from Taiyuan, Hohhot, Harbin, Lhasa, Lanzhou, Xining, Yinchuan and Urumqi will be allowed from June 3 to visit Hong Kong as solo travellers without needing to join a tour group.
Welcoming the representatives at the Heung Yuen Wai boundary control point and the city’s airport, Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Kevin Yeung Yun-hung said he hoped they would experience “the extraordinary charm of Hong Kong as an international metropolis and a culinary capital through this exchange”.
Yeung said the government had arranged the trip to allow the group to experience “‘tourism is everywhere in Hong Kong’ first-hand” through an “in-depth exploration” of the city.
“Tourism is everywhere” was a reference to a concept earlier suggested by Xia Baolong, Beijing’s top official on Hong Kong affairs.
At a meeting with Yeung in Beijing last month, Xia, director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, urged the local administration to revitalise Hong Kong’s tourist offerings amid “profound changes” in the market and treat every corner of the city as a potential spot to lure visitors.
Yeung on Sunday said authorities would work continuously with the trade to provide visitors with a “diversified travel experience and high-quality service” so travellers from different cities could “feel at home” in Hong Kong.
“We hope they will bring this fruitful and high-quality travel experience back to their eight cities, share and promote it among the local residents,” he said of representatives on the visit.
“This will enhance the two-way tourism exchange between the eight cities and Hong Kong.”
Industry leaders recently urged local airlines to actively respond to Beijing’s favourable measures to boost the local economy by launching more non-stop flights to the eight mainland cities.
Of these, only four – Taiyuan, Lanzhou, Yinchuan and Urumqi – offer direct flights to Hong Kong.
Passengers from Xining and Hohhot have to transfer once before arriving in the city, while those from Harbin and Lhasa have to take up to two connecting flights.
