Motion of Thanks - Economic Development (2014/2/12)

President, in this debate session, I will focus on the tourism industry, which is a great concern to Members. In retrospect, last year can be considered as one that offered both causes for celebration and for concern with regard to Hong Kong's tourism industry. The cause for celebration is that in the whole year of 2013, a total of 54.3 million person trips were made to Hong Kong, representing a growth of more than 11%. This large number of inbound visitors spent huge sums of money here and formed the momentum driving the industries concerned, creating a large number of job opportunities for low-skilled workers. In June last year, the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal was officially commissioned. It is a key large-scale infrastructure facility for the tourism industry in Hong Kong built in recent years, thus giving Hong Kong the conditions to become a homeport for cruise vessels in the Asia-Pacific Region. However, the cause for concern is that so far, the Government still lacks long-term planning and objectives for the development of the tourism industry. All along, it has been receiving visitors passively and the problems arising from the ever-increasing number of visitors have also become increasingly pronounced. In particular, they are concentrated in some popular tourist districts and some residential areas, thus causing inconveniences to residents' daily life and resulting in some negative views being voiced in society. There are even demands to restrict Mainlanders in coming to Hong Kong and impose an arrival tax on visitors entering the territory on land. I think all these approaches are tantamount to "chopping off the toes to avoid the sand worms", which will not help solve the problem at all. We should face and analyse the problems in a proactive manner to look for solutions. 

This year, the Chief Executive's Policy Address has taken on board the views of our sector. Compared with the last year's policy address, lengthier passages and a dedicated chapter are devoted to the discussion on this matter. However, the proposed strategies are mainly found in the direction of long-term development. As regards the existing major problems faced by the tourism industry in Hong Kong and how to resolve a series of problems besetting the public living as a result of the increase in the number of visitors, no specific proposals were put forward, so it can be said that "water afar cannot put out a fire nearly".

The Assessment Report on Hong Kong's Capacity to Receive Tourists published by the Government last month has provided more comprehensive information and a basis for Hong Kong to enhance its capacity to receive tourists. According to the projections in the report, annual visitor arrivals will reach 

70 million in 2017 and 100 million person trips in 2023. In the face of the large number of inbound visitors, in order for Hong Kong's tourism industry to see healthy development, the major issue is how to formulate specific short-term and medium-term measures, as well as carrying out long-term tourism planning, so that resources can be committed to diverting visitors. According to the relevant information, among the 54.3 million person trips of visitors last year, about 11 million person trips were made by visitors on multiple-entry permits, about 16 million were day trips, about 13 million were made by overnight visitors and close to 14 million were made by overseas visitors. On the basis of each overnight Mainland visitor spending an average of 2.5 nights, by my rough estimate, each year, an average of about 160 000 Mainland visitors per day moved around in various districts in Hong Kong. The actual number of visitor flow is not as stunning as we imagined. We can take a look at some districts. Sometimes, the residential population of a district can stand at some 500 000 to 600 000. The major problem is the over-concentration of Mainland visitors in several districts and in major festive seasons and during weekends, thus directly affecting the life of residents in some districts. For this reason, so long as the Government can summon up the resolve to listen to the views of various sectors more often, this problem can be resolved gradually.

Apart from trying to divert visitors on short-haul travel, the Government should also actively pay attention to more densely-populated residential areas frequented by Mainland tour groups, such as Kwun Tong, To Kwa Wan, Hung Hom and North Point. Having regard to the actual situation of a district, the Government can increase the number of coach parking spaces and deploy additional manpower to speed up traffic flow and maintain order. Travel agencies and tour guides also have to co-operate and avoid causing excessive disturbance to residents by all means. With appropriate measures, residents will be understanding and they will not be averse to Mainland visitors for no good reason.

In respect of medium-term measures, I welcome the proposal in the Policy Address on exploring the feasibility of developing major shopping, dining, entertainment and hotel facilities on the artificial island for the boundary crossing of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge. However, it did not respond to the proposal put forward by other Members and me on the construction of large shopping malls at the boundary. The Government should actively consider shifting shopping-oriented visitors on multiple-entry permits and those on short-haul travel to other areas by increasing the number of shopping areas near the boundary. In addition, since the West Kowloon Cultural District (WKCD) under construction is located at a prime location, connected to the established business area on Canton Road in Tsim Sha Tsui and adjacent to the Express Rail Link Station soon to be commissioned, it is only necessary to add some tourism elements to attract spending and visitors. The conditions to forge it into a must-see for tourists are absolutely present. This can serve to divert the existing visitors and also enhance the value of the WKCD, thus creating a virtuous circle.

President, a decade later, visitor arrivals in Hong Kong may reach 100 million person trips. The Government must plan for the long term now. The Lantau Development Advisory Committee has been established, so it should proactively explore the feasibility of developing Lantau into a tourist island. With the existing resources, additional hotel sites and other complementary transport facilities for tourism should be put in place on the island. If a tourism island can be built, it will significantly enhance Hong Kong's overall capacity to receive tourists, which is crucial to the future development of tourism in Hong Kong. In addition, the Government has kick-started the planning competition for the recreation destination of Kai Tak Fantasy, so as to develop more tourist attractions with special characteristics, such that visitors can have better choices and tourism development in various districts of Hong Kong can be better balanced. I wish to express my support and hope that the work in this regard can be expedited. As regards the third runway and the supply of hotels, they also have great bearing on the development of tourism, so I will put forward my views in another debate session.

Visitors are not a scourge and Hong Kong is a city of hospitality. We cannot screen visitors, still less can we shut them out. Even as some people among us are discriminating against people from the Mainland, projects are being carried out apace on Hengqin and in Macao across the sea and a share in the market is being coveted. After the completion of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, these places will go further in absorbing a large number of Mainland visitors. If we continue to be self-righteous and do not think about making improvements, we would only undermine Hong Kong's competitiveness in the region, cause Mainland and even overseas visitors to lose their interest in Hong Kong and dampen their desire to visit Hong Kong. When tourism and the relevant service industries are confronted by a crisis, it would be too late to regret our mistake then.

President, the Policy Address says that the Government attaches great importance to the reputation of the tourism sector, so new legislation is being drafted to set up a Travel Industry Authority (TIA) and a bill will be introduced into this Council in the next Legislative Session. Concerning the legislation on the new framework for the TIA, I have the following suggestions: First, the original intent of enacting legislation is to regulate the operation of travel agencies and enhance the reputation of Hong Kong's tourism industry, rather than curtailing the scope of survival for travel agencies. For this reason, it is necessary to study the security deposit system carefully, so that all law-abiding travel agencies can retain the existing conditions for licence renewal and we must not impose too many unreasonable restrictions, so as to prevent monopolization by large travel agencies. Second, in view of the changes after the implementation of the Tourism Law on the Mainland, together with the relevant Mainland authorities, the Government should review the division of labour between the TIA and the Travel Industry Council in monitoring Mainland tour groups in the future, so as to protect the rights of Mainland visitors and bring about fundamental changes to the problem of zero-fee and negative-fee tours. Third, it is hoped that after the establishment of the new regulatory authority, it will be guaranteed that the licence fees will remain unchanged for a period of time and the operating expenses of regulators cannot be met by increases in the licence fees of travel agencies.

Lastly, the tourism industry is very much concerned about the calls to abolish the offsetting mechanism under the MPF System. Among Hong Kong's companies, 98% are SMEs. Employers face increases in rents and wages and have to withstand the pressure of the minimum wage, so their operating costs are rising all the time. If the offsetting mechanism under the MPF System is abolished, these companies will face unexpected costs, thus curbing the scope of survival for SMEs further. I oppose abolishing the offsetting mechanism under the MPF System. Retirement protection is a tripartite responsibility shared by individuals, employers and the Government together, so the Government should bear the responsibility actively by enhancing the types and functions of MPF schemes, so that wage earners can have better retirement protection, rather than transferring all the pressure to employers.

Tourism is one of the four pillars of the Hong Kong economy, so it is hoped that the Government can pay more attention to its state of development and complement it with appropriate policy support, so that tourism in Hong Kong can develop in a healthy and sustained manner and Hong Kong can become a tourist destination with the greatest influence and capacity to receive tourists in the region.

President, I so submit.