HONG KONG - Teaming up with the city’s travel trade, the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) announced Friday (April 25) it would be working on a long-term development strategy for tourism.
The plan incorporates the current phase 1 of “Resilience”. This will be followed, the timeline depending on the pandemic, with the second phase “Recovery” with a number of promotions that stimulate interest in the city for locals and visitors.
In the web conference, which saw nearly 1,500 travel trade representatives attend, other than focusing on public health and hygiene, three main areas of development were introduced by HKTB chairman Dr YK Pang; the mainland market, short-haul and new markets, and long-haul markets.
The mainland market inbound will be more focused on price and value-for-money trips, according to Pang. At the same time, travellers will be selecting destinations that are health-safe, with an emphasis on wellness themes and nature.
Short-haul travel will be the name of the game to begin with, thanks to financial and holiday leave constraints, and intense competition is likely to spring up between regional destinations as promotions are launched.
The HKTB announced previously that HK$400 million (US$51.6 million) will be invested to support Hong Kong’s travel trade’s promotions and draw visitors back to the city.
Looking at Japan, Korea and Taiwan, Dr Pang forecasted it would be the young and middle-aged segments from these markets who will return to travelling first.
Long-haul markets are likely to be slow to resume, at the earliest Q4 of 2020, said Pang. Ethnic Asian travellers will be among the first to travel long haul to Hong Kong, with Canada, France and Germany likely to recover more swiftly than other source markets.
Meanwhile, HKTB is working on a three-phase plan to keep interest and excitement in the city high for both locals and future visitors.
“It 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,” said Dr Pang.
The plan incorporates the current phase 1 of “Resilience”. This will be followed, the timeline depending on the pandemic, with the second phase “Recovery” with a number of promotions that stimulate interest in the city for locals and visitors.
The third phase “Relaunch” will see a new tourism brand campaign launched, and several mega-events created to further boost the city’s image as a key Asian destination.