Vibrant? Food and shopping paradise? Hong Kong should identify its target audience before fulfilling Beijing’s calls for treating every corner as tourist hotspot, experts say

Hong Kong should reconsider its positioning as a tourist destination and strengthen partnerships with residents living near attractions before rushing to fulfil Beijing’s calls for turning every corner of the city into a potential visitor hotspot, experts have said.

The suggestions were made on Thursday after Xia Baolong, Beijing’s official overseeing the city’s affairs, urged the local administration to revitalise its tourism offerings and adopt fresh policies to lure visitors.

Kenneth Kwong Ka-kei, an assistant professor of marketing at the Hang Seng University of Hong Kong, said the city should first clearly understand how it wanted to position itself and which type of travellers it wanted to attract.

“We used to describe Hong Kong as a vibrant city, a paradise for food and shopping. Now, we need to reconsider the direction Hong Kong should take and which type of travellers to attract,” he told a radio show.

“Now we have a new concept, whether it is about exploring everywhere as a tourist spot or focusing on in-depth experiences. We must have clear goals and achieve certain outcomes, which I feel are currently lacking.”

Such a clear repositioning would be more helpful in attracting more visitors rather than holding a monthly fireworks show, which the Tourism Board was now doing, he argued.

Paul Chan Chi-yuen, co-founder of Walk in Hong Kong, which specialises in local walking tours, said the city possessed diverse cultural tourism resources, but authorities needed to consider whether all places were suitable.