Latest news with #RosannaLaw
South China Morning Post
3 days ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong ramps up effort to attract mainland concertgoers for longer stays
Hong Kong is actively seeking to entice mainland Chinese visitors with concert and hotel packages, the tourism minister has said, amid concerns about tourists not staying longer and overcrowded border facilities. Advertisement Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Rosanna Law Shuk-pui said on Saturday that authorities would do more to attract tourists to stay overnight or for longer periods in the city, such as by offering concert deals, hotel packages and discounts on other offerings. 'From a tourism perspective, it's definitely best if we can attract them to stay overnight, perhaps for an extra day or even half a day,' she told a radio programme. 'If there are integrated concert-and-hotel packages with attractive hotel pricing, tourists may stay longer and there is a great potential for growth in this area.' Tourism minister Rosanna Law says authorities will do more to attract tourists to stay overnight. Photo: Edmond So Law made her remarks a day after Peter Lam Kin-ngok, chairman of Hong Kong Tourism Board, questioned whether the government's arrangements for concertgoers were adequate as they were only transported to the border amid a successful series of events, including British band Coldplay and Cantopop star Nicholas Tse, in the Kai Tak Stadium that drew tens of thousands of visitors. Advertisement
RTHK
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- RTHK
Walled City expo turnout beats 10,000 in first week
Walled City expo turnout beats 10,000 in first week Rosanna Law predicts a 16 percent spike in mainland visitors this weekend due to the Dragon Boat Festival. File photo: RTHK Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Rosanna Law said on Saturday more than 10,000 people have visited a new exhibition held at Kowloon Walled City Park, the original site of the former Walled City, in just the first week of its opening. The 'Kowloon Walled City: A Cinematic Journey' exhibition, which features replicas of movie sets from the award-winning film Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In, opened to public last Saturday in a three-year run. To augment the experience as well as manage the flow of visitors, Law said the Leisure and Cultural Services Department has put in place a special ticket arrangement that allows visitors to enter the exhibition at designated times. "The Director of Leisure and Cultural Services has told me that the new [system] has been successful,' she said on a Commercial Radio programme. 'Of course, visitors still need to wait, but they are happier if they can take a break from queueing. "Having breakfast nearby is very convenient; it only takes five to seven minutes to get to Kowloon City.' Law also said four concurrent concerts held last weekend brought out almost 100,000 fans on a single night. She said an essential principle in tourism is that 'when popularity flourishes, wealth and good luck follow' and stressed that Hong Kong should not belittle itself as being an unappealing travel destination. However, she conceded that some people did not stay overnight after attending the concerts and said the sector should come up with measures to attract overnight spending, including packages that include hotel and concert tickets. Law also predicted there would be a 16 percent increase in visits from the mainland this weekend compared to a typical weekend due to the Dragon Boat Festival. However, she gave an assurance, saying the authorities are experienced in managing such influxes. This weekend also sees the last testing event for the 15th National Games in Hong Kong. The test event, featuring the Challenge Cups Fencing Championships, will conclude on Sunday. Law estimates that around 100,000 visitors will attend the National Games events in Hong Kong, scheduled to take place between November 9 and 21. She added that ticketing arrangements will be announced this summer, with both online and offline sales available.
South China Morning Post
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong's twin baby panda cubs named Jia Jia and De De
Hong Kong's nine-month-old twin panda cubs - previously known only as 'Elder Sister' and 'Younger Brother' - have been named Jia Jia and De De, respectively. Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Rosanna Law Shuk-pui announced on Tuesday the results of the panda naming contest, which received more than 35,700 entries from the public since submissions opened in February. The Chinese characters for Jia Jia convey a message of support - 'add oil' in Cantonese - and are pronounced the same as the words 'home' and 'auspices' in Mandarin, the park said. 'Younger Brother' has been named De De, after the Chinese word meaning 'success'. De shares the same pronunciation as the Mandarin and Cantonese pronunciation for 'virtue'. Jia Jia is also the English name of another panda who lived at Ocean Park until her death in 2016, although the Chinese characters for the name of 'Elder Sister' are different. Hong Kong's giant panda Ying Ying makes history as oldest first-time mum Ocean Park's chairman, Paulo Pong Kin-yee, said visitor numbers and revenue had increased during the Easter and Labour Day holidays. 'What's worth noting is that the per-cap spending has also increased,' he said. 'We feel that this will continue well into the summer.' He added that the park had benefited from increased exposure and intellectual property fees brought in by the Panda Friends series' product sales. 'It's been a very good first half of the year for the park,' he said. The panda twin cubs made their public debut on February 16. Photo: Eugene Lee Pong also noted that exclusive VIP tours, which allowed visitors to see the twin cubs, generated more than HK$2 million (US$255,177) in March and April. The tours, which cost HK$1,500 per person, provided visitors early access to the facilities and a half-hour to capture pictures of the cubs. Ocean Park earlier said that the nicknames 'Elder Sister' and 'Younger Brother' would remain, while the Mandarin pinyin of the selected Chinese names would be adopted as the English names. Pong said that the cubs already weighed more than 21kg (46lbs) and visitors no longer had to be separated by a glass panel when visiting them in their new enclosure. The enclosure will be open from 10am to 4.30pm daily starting on Wednesday for visitors to catch the twins together with their mother. Hong Kong's Golden Week draws mainland tourists with pandas and bun festival The twins' father, Le Le, is housed at the Giant Panda Adventure but separate from Ying Ying and the twins, in line with their natural solitary behaviour, according to Ocean Park. The cubs have been drawing fans to the enclosure every day since they made their public debut on February 16, six months after they were born on August 15 last year. Ying Ying became the oldest first-time panda mother in captivity when she gave birth to the cubs. The journey to parenthood for Ying Ying and Le Le took more than 10 years, with multiple phantom pregnancies and miscarriages.
South China Morning Post
27-05-2025
- General
- South China Morning Post
Jia Jia and De De chosen as names for Hong Kong's twin panda cubs
Hong Kong's nine-month-old twin panda cubs have been named Jia Jia for 'Elder Sister' and De De for 'Younger Brother', which reflect good virtue in Chinese culture. Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Rosanna Law Shuk-pui revealed on Tuesday the results of the panda naming contest, which received more than 35,700 entries from members of the public since submissions opened in February. 'All suggestions reflected beautiful blessings for the giant pandas,' she said. 03:07 Twin giant pandas greet excited public for the first time at Hong Kong's Ocean Park Twin giant pandas greet excited public for the first time at Hong Kong's Ocean Park Ocean Park said that the nicknames 'Elder Sister' and 'Younger Brother' would be kept as usual, while the Mandarin pinyin of the selected Chinese names would be adopted as the English names of the twin cubs. On the same day, the cubs and their mother Ying Ying will be moved to the Alpine Zone of their enclosure at the Giant Panda Adventure. The enclosure will be open from 10am to 4.30pm daily starting Wednesday for visitors to catch the twins together with their mother. The panda twin cubs made their public debut on February 16. Photo: Eugene Lee The twins' father, giant panda Le Le, is housed at the Giant Panda Adventure but separate from Ying Ying and her baby twins, in line with their natural solitary behaviour, according to Ocean Park.
The Star
09-05-2025
- Business
- The Star
Hong Kong overhauls image to attract visitors
Measures adopted by the Asian financial hub include revamping its dated taxi fleet and improving digital payment systems. — Bloomberg HONG KONG: Hong Kong's efforts to overhaul an image dented by years of turbulence and re-establish itself as an Asian events hub are starting to lure more international visitors beyond mainland China, the city's tourism chief says. Measures adopted by the Asian financial hub include revamping its dated taxi fleet and improving digital payment systems, Rosanna Law, Hong Kong's Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, told Bloomberg TV in an interview. The city is also doubling down on hosting major events to lure back the jet set, with a recent concert by British band Coldplay and a move by its annual Rugby Sevens tournament to a flashy new waterfront stadium. 'We need to rack our brains to find new attraction points so that people are willing to spend or find new reasons for people to stay that much longer,' said Law, who was appointed to the role in December. Visitor arrivals in the first quarter grew 9% from the same period in 2024, to 12 million, while the number of non-mainland visitors surged by 18%, according to the Hong Kong Tourism Board. It was the biggest on-year quarterly growth in tourists since travel resumed in Hong Kong after the pandemic. Hong Kong's image as a tourist-friendly destination has suffered from years of turmoil, including pro-democracy protests, strict Covid-19 measures and Beijing's clampdown on freedoms in the special administrative region. Its tourism industry is still struggling to fully rebound six years after Covid-19, making it one of the last markets in Asia to recover. Last year it welcomed nearly 45 million tourists, a 31% jump from 2023, though just short of the tourism board's target of 46 million – and far off the record 65 million arrivals in 2018, the pre-pandemic year. The agency forecasts a 10% increase in visitors in 2025, to about 49 million, still below levels seen before Covid-19. Hong Kong relies heavily on China for tourism: Chinese still comprise the bulk of arrivals, making up about 76% of visitors last year. — Bloomberg
