‘If Hong Kong hopes that our neighbouring cities or competitors can stand still … I think that is unrealistic,’ tourism minister says
4-MIN READ4-MIN Listen 03:53Competing for tourists? Then Hong Kong must be ‘bigger and better’: Rosanna LawWynna WongPublished: 8:30am, 23 Jun 2026Updated: 8:43am, 23 Jun 2026As Hong Kong marks the 29th anniversary of its return to Chinese rule on July 1, the South China Morning Post talks to the city’s senior officials about the administration’s achievements so far and what may lie ahead.
Hong Kong should focus on becoming “bigger and better”, rather than expecting neighbouring cities such as Shenzhen to “stand still”, the city’s tourism chief has said, as the government prepares its first five-year plan and seeks to raise the sector’s contribution to the economy.
She expressed confidence that annual growth in arrivals would help the government meet its target of expanding the tourism sector’s contribution to the city’s gross domestic product to about 5 per cent by 2029, revealing that the industry last year contributed around 3 per cent.
“I don’t think it’s aggressive. We have done that in the past,” she said.
