By South China Morning Post | Created at 2026-06-23 00:35:26 | Updated at 2026-06-23 20:05:03
19 hours ago
As Hong Kong marks the 29th anniversary of its return to Chinese rule on July 1, the South China Morning Post talks to the city’s senior officials about the administration’s achievements so far and what may lie ahead.
Hong Kong should focus on becoming “bigger and better”, rather than expecting neighbouring cities such as Shenzhen to “stand still”, the city’s tourism chief has said, as the government prepares its first five-year plan and seeks to raise the sector’s contribution to the economy.
Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism
Rosanna Law Shuk-pui told the South China Morning Post in an exclusive interview that the city faced intense competition not only in tourism but across multiple sectors.
She expressed confidence that annual growth in arrivals would help the government meet its target of expanding the tourism sector’s contribution to the city’s gross domestic product to about 5 per cent by 2029, revealing that the industry last year contributed around 3 per cent.
“I don’t think it’s aggressive. We have done that in the past,” she said.
Competing for tourists? Then Hong Kong must be ‘bigger and better’: Rosanna Law
Shenzhen has increasingly emerged as a tourism rival to Hong Kong, with a growing line-up of attractions and lower prices, contributing to a steady flow of cross-border travel by Hong Kong residents.
