Govt gauges interests to 'take care' of visitors: CE
Govt gauges interests to 'take care' of visitors: CE
The Labour Day Golden Week holiday has been busier than last year, with 1.1 million tourists arriving in Hong Kong. File photo: RTHK
Tourism officials will study the travel patterns and interests of incoming visitors while working out what mainland travellers like following the Labour Day Golden Week holiday, according to the city's leader.
Ahead of Tuesday's Executive Council meeting, Chief Executive John Lee also said the SAR should welcome all types of tourists and cater to their needs.
The city welcomed 1.1 million tourists in the first five days of the month, up around 22 percent from the same period last year. Friday saw the most mainland arrivals – 267,000.
The chief executive said officials will study the use of technology for crowd control and learn what tourists are interested in nowadays.
"We should really gather information about the new travel patterns of visitors, particularly those from the mainland, because they represent a big chunk of tourists, to know about their new travel patterns, new needs and new routes, so that we can take good care of them," Lee said.
"After knowing all these new demands, we can plan new routes, new supporting facilities to allow them to enjoy Hong Kong more."
During the five-day holiday, some mainland tourists reportedly spent the night camping or at fast-food restaurants instead of hotels.
"There will be high-end travellers, and there will also be non-high-end travellers," Lee said.
"But we must look at tourism as a whole, so that every tourist will find their experience in Hong Kong an enjoyable one.
"We have to work together to ensure that Hong Kong is a city that welcomes all tourists."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RTHK
18 hours ago
- RTHK
Security risks put paid to communications tender
Security risks put paid to communications tender Chris Tang says tendering can still be adopted to procure items that don't have any national security implications. Photo: RTHK Secretary for Security Chris Tang said on Tuesday the government has decided to skip the tendering process in procuring a next-generation communications system for the police force after taking into consideration national security risks. The force began parallel tendering to select a service provider to upgrade its communication system with 5G capabilities two years ago. However, the open tender process has since been abandoned, with the force citing geopolitical risks affecting supply chains and concerns over information security. According to papers submitted to Legco, authorities said they opted to directly approach a "reliable" service provider of their choice. In a Legislative Council security panel meeting, Tang said the decision on next-generation communications does not mean that all police procurements will skip the tendering process. 'We believe national security considerations are necessary but they do not mean every procurement exercise has to place them as our top priority,' he said. 'For example, we would also have to procure stationery and other products. So as long as they don't have any national security implications, we believe we should still adopt the conventional method of putting procurements up for tender.' The project's estimated cost has also substantially reduced to HK$2 billion, a more than 60 percent decrease compared to the original estimate of HK$5.2 billion. Tang assured lawmakers that this would not affect the system's functionality. 'We have already enhanced the design," he said. "For example, initially we were supposed to have two sets of hardware, and now we can have one with built-in firewalls. "All these have been adopted without affecting our operational efficiency. Therefore it's now cheaper and still equally efficient.' The proposed system also adopts a hybrid model, whereby the government will build and operate the core network and base stations, which will be complemented by commercial services for broader coverage and cost-effectiveness. Tang said the police will have priority in using the 5G network in congested areas, such as during fireworks shows. Annual expenditure for the proposed system will be about HK$40 million higher than current costs, but Tang stressed the higher expenditure incurred in upgrading the system is necessary to enhance efficiency. Lawmakers agreed to allow the proposal to proceed to the finance committee stage this month.
RTHK
19 hours ago
- RTHK
Xi, Trump to have phone call this week: White House
Xi, Trump to have phone call this week: White House The Foreign Ministry says Beijing has "no information to provide" on White House claims that the leaders of China and the US would talk this week. File photo: RTHK President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Donald Trump will likely hold a long-awaited call later this week, the White House said on Monday, as trade tensions between the world's two biggest economies ratchet back up. Asked about the matter on Tuesday, a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry said Beijing had "no information to provide." Trump re-ignited strains with China last week when he accused the world's second-biggest economy of violating a deal that had led both countries to temporarily reduce huge tit-for-tat tariffs. The Commerce Ministry hit back, saying Washington had seriously undermined the consensus reached during the China-US economic and trade talks in Geneva earlier. "The two leaders will likely talk this week," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters outside the West Wing when asked whether Trump and Xi would speak. The presidents of China and the US have yet to have any confirmed contact more than five months since the Republican returned to power, despite frequent claims by the US president that a call is imminent. Trump even said in a Time Magazine interview in April that Xi had called him, but Beijing insisted that there had been no call recently. The US leader introduced in April sweeping worldwide tariffs that targeted China most heavily of all, accusing other countries of "ripping off" the United States and running trade imbalances. China has denounced the tariffs, calling them protectionist, and made it clear no one wins in a trade or tariff war. (AFP)
RTHK
19 hours ago
- RTHK
HK stocks end up, driven by rebound for carmakers
HK stocks end up, driven by rebound for carmakers The Hang Seng Index saw a fairly strong rise of 354.52 points, or 1.53 percent. File photo: RTHK Hong Kong and mainland shares ended higher on Tuesday as banking stocks hit record highs and automakers rebounded, though investors remained cautious ahead of key developments later in the week. In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng Index added 354.52 points, or 1.53 percent, to end the day at 23,512.49. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index tracking mainland companies rose 1.9 percent to bounce back from a one-month low. Carmakers listed in the city bounced, taking a breather from the recent sell-off triggered by a price war on the mainland. The Hang Seng Automobile Index jumped 2.4 percent, with Li Auto surging 5.8 percent and BYD climbing 3.9 percent. Up north, Chinese stocks closed higher, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index up 0.43 percent to 3,361.98. The Shenzhen Component Index closed 0.16 percent higher at 10,057.17. The ChiNext Index, tracking China's Nasdaq-style board of growth enterprises, gained 0.48 percent to close at 2,002.70. Banking stocks led onshore markets higher, with the CSI Banks Index rallying 2 percent to a record high. Chip stocks also strengthened, with the CSI Semiconductor Index adding 1.4 percent. "A likely return of market volatility in June" is expected due to US tariff policy uncertainties and lingering fundamental headwinds seen in macroeconomic data, according to a China equity strategist at Daiwa Capital Markets Hong Kong. "We reiterate our cautious market views as a market rebound since mid-April may have already factored in a 'good outcome' of the trade war," he wrote in a note. Further afield, Australian shares ended higher, helped by banks as investors expectations for further rate cuts were strengthened after minutes from the central bank's May meeting showed it had considered an outsized cut. The S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.6 percent to 8,466.70 at the close of trade. The benchmark remains a few points shy of the psychologically important 8,500-point level, last seen in mid-February. (Xinhua/Reuters)
