HK: ‘one mega event every two days’ (concorrência com HK)

 jun24

One of the Hong Kong government’s top tourism advisers – the leisure and entertainment mogul Allan Zeman – says the city is lagging behind Macao when it comes to attractions. 

His comments will come as a stark warning to a Hong Kong tourism industry struggling to find its post-pandemic direction, with long-haul markets remaining sluggish and the domestic market shifting from affluent mainland Chinese travellers to penny-pinching day-trippers.

In remarks published by the South China Morning Post over the weekend, Zeman said Macao has things “we don’t have” and praised the Macao government’s efforts to diversify away from gambling as a tourist draw.

“Macao is becoming an exciting city. Every week there’s new names coming, putting on shows, and it’s competition for us,” he said.

Zeman added: “The casinos earn a lot of money, so they can keep bringing out new things and reinventing themselves … Macao has suddenly become a very fun place to go to.” He said concessionaires were also “getting better and better” at staging entertainment.

https://macaonews.org/news/greater-bay-area/hong-kong-macao-allan-zeman-tourism-competition-macau/

may24

Hong Kong’s Chief Executive John Lee has announced the city will host “one mega event every two days” over the next six months – including art exhibitions, sports fixtures and top-level business conferences – the South China Morning Post reports. The move throws down the gauntlet to Macao, which has launched an ambitious event programme of its own in a bid to boost visitors.

Lee said the year’s line-up of more than 210 “mega events” was expected to inject HK$4.3 billion (US$551 million) into the local economy. Eligible for government subsidies, these events are intended to draw about 1.7 million visitors to Macao’s near neighbour.

“I’ve mentioned many times that the government will not rely on one way to boost the local economy,” he stated on Tuesday. “The variety of events hosted in Hong Kong will create opportunities for attracting people and [revenue].”

Hong Kong’s deputy financial secretary, Michael Wong, described mega events as “value for money” for Hong Kong, as the projected financial gains would outweigh the HK$200 million the  government was spending on subsidies this year.

The city’s culture, sports and tourism secretary Kevin Yeung acknowledged the public’s concerns over such events after Lionel Messi’s spectacular no-show at a football match in February. The PR debacle saw furious fans demanding refunds and the government lambasting the organiser, lifestyle magazine publisher Tatler Asia.

Yeung said that the government had withdrawn the initial subsidy it had granted to Tatler Asia, and stressed that Hong Kong’s government was currently reviewing its funding arrangements for future mega events.

https://macaonews.org/news/greater-bay-area/hong-kong-tourism-mega-events/

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