Hong Kong is pinning its hopes on two newly arrived pandas to boost tourism spending in the city, which recently dropped several places in a global list of tourist destinations, and boost the flagging economy.
The city, which recently fired its top tourism and travel officials without giving a reason, now ranks 21st in the Euromonitor Top 100 City Destinations Index 2024, compared with 17th in 2023.
Like the rest of China, Hong Kong’s economy has struggled to bounce back in the wake of the three years of zero-COVID restrictions and travel bans.
The city even handed out free plane tickets in a bid to boost visitor numbers after the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions.
Yet all is clearly not well in the city that was once known for its vibrant night-life, iconic harbor, packed restaurants and bustling malls and markets.
Chief Executive John Lee last week fired Culture, Sports and Tourism Secretary Kevin Yeung and Secretary for Transport and Logistics Lam Sai-hung.
Now, he seems to be hoping that giant pandas An An and Ke Ke will attract both patriotic visitors from mainland China and international tourists to spend their cash and boost the local economy.
Lee attended a lavish “Giant Panda Greeting Ceremony” at the HK$498- (US$64-) per-person Ocean Park theme park panda attraction alongside Zhou Ji, a top ruling Chinese Communist Party official in charge of Hong Kong, on Saturday.
“Hong Kong is honored to be keeping the largest number of giant pandas outside of mainland China,” Lee told the gathering. “These giant pandas ... demonstrate the Central Government’s support and care for Hong Kong.”
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With Rosanna Law now in the driving seat as Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, the government has also scattered 2,500 sculptures of pandas in different poses across the city in a series of “exhibitions” it terms the Panda Go! Fest.
It will auction special editions of the pandas off for charity with musician Pharrell Williams, actor Huang Bo, and supermodel Du Juan as guest stars, according to the official website.
Law told reporters that 145,000 people visited Hong Kong on Saturday from mainland China, 28.5% more than that daily average for November.
Yet government statistics show that overnight visits didn’t also spike, suggesting that those visitors were mostly day-trippers, and didn’t stay long.
Mainland Chinese visitors typically spent around HK$5,100 (US$656) a head on trips to Hong Kong in the first half of this year -- slightly less than the HK$5,800 (US$746) they spent in the second half of 2023, and far below the HK$7,000 (US$900) they spent in 2018.
But day-trippers consume far less than that, spending an average of HK$1,300 (US$167) a head in the first half of 2024, compared with HK$2,400 (US$308) in 2018.
Fewer mainland shoppers
Store owners in the New Territories town of Sheung Shui, close to the border with mainland China, said there are still some mainland shoppers -- who stand out because they typically bring trolleys to cart their hauls back over the border -- on the streets these days thanks to a multiple-entry permit rolled out by the authorities that saw 30,000 people cross into Hong Kong last week.
But they’re coming in far fewer numbers than before the pandemic, and they’re spending far less, business owners said.
“I mainly come her to buy infant formula for my kids, because the quality control is probably better here,” a shopper from Shenzhen who gave the surname Li told RFA Cantonese on Sunday.
Two other shoppers said they came for lip balms and other skincare products, which are slightly cheaper in Hong Kong.
But shoppers told RFA Cantonese that they don’t come that often. “This is my first time since the pandemic,” a shopper from Shenzhen said. Two others said they come about once a month.
It’s a far cry from the days when bulk traders thronged the streets with their trolleys, buying up jade and gold. The jewelry store in the same street remained empty on Sunday afternoon.
“It’s not really helping our industry,” a gold store owner surnamed Cheung told Radio Free Asia.
Pharmacy owners said their turnover has also plummeted, with one estimating it at one-tenth of pre-pandemic levels.
Tourism chief’s departure
Meanwhile, in the absence of official comment on the sacking of former tourism chief Kevin Yeung, Hong Kongers were left speculating on the reasons for his early departure.
A college student who gave only the surname Kwun for fear of reprisals said many believe the authorities were unimpressed by the last-minute cancelation of a drone show planned for Victoria Harbor in September to mark Mid-Autumn Festival.
“Kevin Yeung didn’t do a good job with the drone show, which got canceled for no reason on the day it was supposed to happen,” Kwun said.
Authorities said at the time that intense solar activity had interfered with the navigational equipment controlling the drones.
A student nurse who gave only the surname Lee for fear of reprisals said Yeung’s attempts to boost Hong Kong’s nightlife had also fallen flat.
“He didn’t do much to promote local events or nightlife, and he didn’t succeed in boosting Hong Kong’s economy, which has actually gotten worse,” Lee said.
“I don’t think anyone in government is doing much about it,” Lee said, adding that he has scant hope that Yeung’s replacement will be any better.
During Yeung’s tenure, Hong Kong’s Kai Tak Cruise Terminal remained largely empty of ships, while Inter Miami soccer legend Lionel Messi failed to turn out to play in a much-vaunted exhibition match in February.
Yeung was also held to account for failing to roll out a government “blueprint” to revitalize the arts, culture and creative industries in time for the Chief Executive’s policy address in October.
Yeung eventually launched the measures, which he said aimed to “enhance the appeal of Hong Kong’s culture ... and further consolidate Hong Kong’s position as an East-meets-West center for international cultural exchanges” on Nov. 26.
While Lee declined to say why Yeung and Lam were fired, he did praise their successors Rosanna Law and Mable Chan for their “leadership, articulation skills, and also their proactiveness.”
“This is exactly what I need in the years to come, to ensure that we will reap the best results,” Lee told journalists on Dec. 5, adding that he wanted to regain time lost due to the pandemic and the 2019 protests.
Translated by Luisetta Mudie.