Hong Kong Sees Crisis as Its Path to Overdue Reinvention of Tourism

A long overdue repositioning of Hong Kong's tourism offering is in the cards — finally. While Hong Kong Tourism Board's immediate priority is rightly focused on recovery, industry members said the wider concern is how the coronavirus pandemic and pro-democracy protests have exposed Hong Kong's lack of tourism vision and the need for a reinvention. That concern is being heard. At a web conference for industry members last Friday, the tourism board's chairman YK Pang told 1,500 attendees that Covid-19 “is in fact an ideal time for us to review and rethink Hong Kong’s position in the global tourism market and elevate service standard.” Together with the travel trade, the board will map out the long-term development strategy for the tourism industry, he promised. In an interview with Skift after the meeting, the tourism board's executive director, Dane Cheng, said discussions on “redefining and re-crafting the visitor experience” started even before the Covid-19 crisis. “When I came in [November 2019], I proposed to the government and the board that we should relook this, because a lot of things have changed, including Hong Kong's image in the world, travelers' patterns and preferences, the way we communicate with them,” Cheng said. Covid-19 only made it more essential. During the web conference, Pang said he foresees a new tourism landscape post-pandemic. Hygiene standards will be the top priority; short breaks and wellness-themed trips will be popular. The tourism board is reaching out to stakeholders — hotels, inbound agencies, retail, dining, et cetera — for views on reposi