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Opinion | Hong Kong’s colour is fading while Singapore and Shenzhen shine
- The city needs rebranding and revitalising to shake off its image problem. After recent lacklustre tourism campaigns, and a failure to deliver bold ideas in the past, a deeper rethink is needed
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Singapore recently hosted the Formula One Grand Prix weekend, the highlight of which was the night race on the Marina Bay Street Circuit. The Lion City originally held races from 1961 to 1973, and the event returned in 2008, rebranded to showcase the vibrant city at night.
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The 14 races since have attracted around 1 billion viewers worldwide. Accompanied by major performances and events, F1 brings the city state immeasurable image benefits and tourism receipts.
In contrast, Hong Kong’s tourism, food and drink sectors have been disappointed with the city’s post-Covid-19 business performance. Despite the “Hello Hong Kong” campaign launched in February and its generous handouts, the boost to “revenge” tourism and consumption has been smaller than expected.
Hong Kong has a good share of annual world-class events, notably the Sevens rugby tournament, the Hong Kong Marathon and Art Basel Hong Kong, as well as many seasonal celebrations and exhibitions. It is a major global events destination.
Before the 2019 protests and pandemic disruptions, tourism was a booming industry, the envy of Hong Kong’s neighbours. Arrivals reached a record high of 65 million in 2018, 3.5 times Singapore’s.
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Recovery has been gradual. Still, more than 20 million people visited Hong Kong in the first eight months of this year, about 84 per cent of the pre-pandemic 2017-2019 corresponding average, with 80 per cent coming from the mainland. The figure is not bad, compared to Singapore, which saw 9 million arrivals, about 70 per cent of the January-August total in 2019.
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