Opinion | ‘Golden week’ fireworks flop shows Hong Kong’s tourism plans lack sparkle

The opportunity to showcase Hong Kong’s Labour Day fireworks display to the “golden week” crowd flopped. The government was aware that those who came to see the show might be let down because of the bad weather. Tourism minister Kevin Yeung Yun-hung tried to manage expectations and asked tourists to be “mentally prepared … that some performances may not be able to be held”.

The government has been good at managing Hongkongers’ expectations, from signalling that there would be no “sweeteners” in the budget, to efforts to prepare residents for another delay in the waste charging scheme. Managing visitors’ expectations is an interesting concept but perhaps harder to achieve.

The Labour Day fireworks were played up as a main feature to draw mainland tourists to the city. The fireworks ultimately went ahead, the first display of the proposed measures introduced in the latest budget for the Hong Kong Tourism Board to host regular fireworks and drone displays.

However, the show turned out to be a huge letdown, with some mainland visitors taking to social media to express their disappointment. One Xiaohongshu user went as far as saying they felt “scammed” by the quality of the fireworks display. Many complained about only being able to see thick clouds of smoke.

We could blame the weather and credit organisers with putting on a show against the odds. It was better than nothing, right? Alternatively, the government could take this as a learning opportunity.

Setting the first of the monthly pyrotechnics shows for the holiday week around May Day might have been too ambitious. As we have seen with the mess around the waste charging scheme, a trial run might have been in order. That way, officials could have properly managed the expectations of tourists planning to see the show. A scaled-down display would be a disappointment if people had expected the same kind of show the city has put on in the past.