The Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB), as it provides for a new tourism post-pandemic landscape, will partner the local travel trade to develop a long-term strategy and recovery plan for the tourism industry in Hong Kong.
This announcement was made at the recent web conference led by HKTB Chairman YK Pang and CEO Dane Cheng to provide updates on the growth of tourism in Hong Kong to local travel businesses and implement a strategic recovery plan of the HKTB.
During the conference, attended by almost 1,500 stakeholders in the industry, Cheng said the HKTB has established a three-phase plan to revitalize the city’s tourism.
The plan complements the HK$400 million ( US$ 51 million) allocation by the Tourism Board for trade support after Covid 19 has ended.
In its first step (“Resilience”), the HKTB is implementing a recovery plan for the tourism industry in Hong Kong.
In the second phase (the “Recovery” phase), the HKTB will focus on encouraging the local people to rediscover different neighborhoods and communal cultures so as to send a positive message to visitors and restore trust in the city.
The HKTB will also launch tactical promotions in selected markets based on individual market developments to promote the interests of the public to visit Hong Kong.
Phase three (“Relaunch”) includes the launch of mega events and a new tourism brand campaign to rebuild Hong Kong’s tourism image.
Pang said that the Covid-19 pandemic has brought Hong Kong tourism and global tourism to a halt with unprecedented challenges.
The tourist landscape is going to be transformed: in the post-pandemic world, we will see a shift in preferences and conduct between the travelers-conditions of public health destinations and hygiene standards of transport, hotels and other touristic facilities will become the top priority.
“It is also a perfect time for us to evaluate and re-think Hong Kong’s position on the global tourism market and boost standards for services. Together with the travel industry the HKTB must draw up the long-term tourism growth plan.”
The meeting also included members from HKTB ‘s worldwide offices, who provided insights into recent developments in various fields. Market regions: mainland China, short and new markets and long-haul markets regions.
Consumers in mainland China will increase price awareness and pursue value for money holidays in light of the economic repercussions of the virus. Visitors should also put greater focus on health and nature following prolonged confinement. They would also prefer destinations that pose low health risks for potential trips.
National and regional travel will contribute to the recovery of tourism, and regional destinations will see fiercer rivalry following the pandemic. The young and middle-aged segments are the most excited ones to travel in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. Green tourism and the outdoors are promoted, while short-haul trips are preferred due to financial and vacation constraints.
Long haul markets are going to take longer to recover and outbound traffic will resume as early as 4Q2020. Ethnic visitors to Asia are expected to visit Hong Kong for the first time after the pandemic, while Canada, France and Germany can recover faster than other feed markets.
