By South China Morning Post | Created at 2025-01-05 07:09:32 | Updated at 2025-01-07 02:28:15
1 day ago
Hong Kong’s tourism chief has said mainland Chinese travellers will remain the major source of tourists to the city in the next five years despite the newly released blueprint to update strategies for the sector’s development.
But Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Rosanna Law Shuk-pui expressed confidence that the number of foreign travellers would continue to rise, citing an over 30 per cent year-on-year increase during the Christmas holiday.
“The fact that mainlanders constitute the largest number of tourists to Hong Kong will not change in five years because of the proximity between Hong Kong and other mainland cities,” Law told a TV programme on Sunday.
“As for whether international tourists will increase, that is my goal. And I am very confident that the city can achieve that.”
Authorities earlier this week unveiled a highly-anticipated tourism industry development blueprint, which aimed to boost the economy by HK$120 billion (US$15.5 billion) and employ 210,000 people over the next five years.
Highlighting pandas, horse racing, mega events and smart initiatives among updated strategies, the document emphasised Hong Kong’s role as a hub for international and multi-destination tourism and as a city where East meets West.
