Hong Kong International Tourism Convention underway

At a time of increasing unilateralism and protectionism, tourism is a welcome tonic – a buoyant multilateral embrace of shared experience, cultural co-operation and people-to-people bonds, said Carrie Lam, Chief Executive, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region at the Hong Kong International Tourism Convention underway from December 12. There were two plenary sessions at the convention. The first one talked about the implications of the Belt and Road Initiative on the development of international tourism, while the second one deliberated on the relationship between the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and regional and international tourism.
She informed that multilateral co-operation is no less central to the Belt and Road Initiative and to tourism development. “Easing visa regulations, expanding flight connections, enhancing cultural co-operation – these and other considered measures can only help boost tourism.”
She also said, “Hong Kong is an international hub for professional services, from financial and legal, to architectural, communications, transportation management and many more. We have the expertise, the experience and the institutions to provide services to other economies along the Belt and Road on tourism infrastructure developments, as well as train professionals for the tourism industry.”
Talking about the Greater Bay Area, she said, “Closer to home, the Greater Bay Area has the means to rival Tokyo, San Francisco and New York – the world’s three renowned bay areas – in tourism potential. With a collective population of 70 million, the Bay Area boasts a combined GDP of some US$1.5 trillion. At the same time, the Greater Bay Area is an important source market for other economies given its high level of affluence.”