Li Jiachao: A total of 16 million visitors to Hong Kong in the first four months will continue to enhance Hong Kong's appeal

The Zhitong Finance App learned that on May 20, Hong Kong Chief Executive Li Jiachao said before attending the Executive Council today that thanks to the joint efforts of the HKSAR government and various industries, including tourism, restaurants, hotels, retail, etc., and Hong Kong successfully hosted many major events, the number of visitors to Hong Kong is rising steadily. The first four months of this year recorded 16 million visitors to Hong Kong, an increase of 10% over the previous year; of these, mainland visitors accounted for 12 million, an increase of 8% over the previous year; the number of non-mainland visitors was 4 million, an increase of 17% over the previous year.

As Hong Kong's air capacity recovers further, the growth momentum of many mainland and overseas passenger markets will continue to rise, including long-haul passengers, with visitors from Australia increasing significantly by more than 30% year on year; passengers from Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines and Indonesia increasing by more than 20% year on year; and passengers from the US, Canada, Europe, etc. will also increase by more than 10% year over year. Hong Kong will seize the good momentum, further optimize tourism facilities and explore more tourist hotspots, and continue to enhance Hong Kong's appeal.

Li Jiachao pointed out that last year's “Policy Address” announced the establishment of a working group (working group) to develop tourism hotspots, with three main purposes. First, on the basis of the “Tourism Development Blueprint 2.0”, it is necessary to strengthen cross-departmental coordination, discover and build popular and attractive tourist hotspots in the region, and use the network of the 18 regions of Hong Kong to gather government, industry and social forces, and use regional wisdom to jointly create new hotspots for “tourism everywhere” in Hong Kong.

Second, take care of travelers' preferences and new travel models under the new normal, covering different categories including ecological tours, cultural tours, in-depth tours, check-in tours, and authentic food tours.

Third, optimize attraction facilities, add new elements, connect tourism with food, film and television culture, art, corporate features, etc., and add technology, such as AR (augmented reality), VR (virtual reality), etc., to make consumption part of the fun of travel and create greater economic benefits.

Li Jiachao also mentioned that he plans to go to the Legislative Council next Thursday, May 29 to hold an “interactive exchange and answer session with the Chief Executive”, which has been approved by the President of the Legislative Council. This question and answer session will discuss two topics, namely “deepening international exchanges and cooperation” and “accelerating the development of the northern metropolitan area.”

Li Jiachao said that last week, a high-level business delegation from Hong Kong and the mainland visited two Middle Eastern countries — Qatar and Kuwait — with great results. It was an important experience to practice international exchanges and cooperation, explore business opportunities, and create new breakthroughs in the economy. We hope to discuss the direction and path of further deepening international exchanges and cooperation with members of parliament to open up new opportunities for Hong Kong.

The second topic is “Accelerating the development of the northern metropolitan area.” The Hong Kong Government issued the Northern Metropolitan Area Action Plan in 2023 to develop the Northern Metropolitan Area (Beidu) into four parts from west to east into a high-end professional service and logistics hub, an innovative technology zone, a port trade and industrial zone, and a blue-green recreational tourism ecosystem.

In order to speed up the development of the North Capital and reduce the financial burden on the government, Hong Kong launched three pilot projects, including the Hung Shui Kiu/Ha Tsuen New Development Area, the Fanling North New Development Zone and the Xintian Science and Technology City. It proposed district development, tenders to the market in the form of a district, and made good use of corporate capital and strength to develop the Beidu more efficiently. As for the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Cooperation Zone and the entire Xintian Science and Technology City, it is even more necessary to break through the restrictions of laws, regulations, policies and systems between the two places, facilitate the flow of people, logistics, capital and data through innovative and creative methods, and become a demonstration site and testing ground for leading technology and cutting-edge R&D, scientific research transformation and implementation of achievements, and at the same time promote the settlement and development of high-end manufacturing industries. I hope to interact with members of parliament to discuss the direction and methods to accelerate the development of the northern capital.