Motion of Thanks -  Diversified Economy (2017/11/8)

MR YIU SI-WING (in Cantonese): President, this is the maiden Policy Address of Chief Executive Mrs Carrie LAM following her assumption of office. Generally speaking, the address is comprehensive and pragmatic, being able to cater for the needs of various groups and having responded to the aspirations of the stakeholders of major industries, in particular, substantive measures have been implemented in areas such as housing, young people, elderly care and assistance to small and medium enterprises ("SMEs"), and quite a number of pledges made in her election manifesto have been fulfilled.

In the case of the tourism industry, the industry has long been urging the Government to establish a Tourism Bureau. While the Chief Executive replied that a Bureau could not be established in the short run due to objective reasons, she agreed to establish an inter-departmental committee led by a Secretary of Department, so as to coordinate various Policy Bureaux in resolving problems faced by the tourism industry. It is learnt that in early October the Financial Secretary already convened an inter-bureau high-level meeting, at which he requested various bureaux to enhance communication and coordination, and study how to resolve various major problems faced by the tourism industry.

Following the proposal of the Policy Address, the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau released the Development Blueprint for Hong Kong's Tourism Industry, the first planning blueprint for the tourism industry released by the Government since the reunification. The blueprint has accepted many views given by me and the tourism sector, and formulated the short, medium and long-term development proposals and implementation timetables for promoting the tourism industry. I hope that the Government will not indulge in empty talk but engage in in-depth studies and seriously implement measures to address major problems, so as to enhance the overall receiving standards of Hong Kong in a targeted manner.

On developing the convention and exhibition industry, Hong Kong, as a leading convention and exhibition destination in Asia, is facing fierce competition from neighbouring cities. The convention and exhibition industry is characterized by three highs: high growth potential, high added-values and highly innovative benefits. Not only can the industry improve the international image of the city, but can also attract business visitors with high-spending power. In 2015-2016, overnight visitor arrivals for convention, exhibition and incentives in Hong Kong reached 1.72 million and their per-capita spending exceeded HK$8,400, 16% higher than that of inbound visitors in general. For this reason,a number of Asian cities, including Singapore, Bangkok, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Shanghai, have identified the convention and exhibition industry as a key industry for development. For example, Shanghai is building a national convention and exhibition centre of some 500 000 sq m, and Shenzhen is building an international convention and exhibition centre of some 300 000 sq m. In contrast, we remain stagnant.

Nowadays the biggest obstacle for developing the convention and exhibition industry in Hong Kong is the lack of space. The Policy Address this year proposes to demolish and redevelop the three government buildings next to the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre ("HKCEC") in Wan Chai North into a new wing of convention and exhibition facilities that can be connected to and integrated with the existing HKCEC. Even if the three government buildings are redeveloped into an extended new wing of convention and exhibition facilities in Wan Chai, the additional convention and exhibition space will only be 23 000 sq m. This, coupled with a convention centre of 15 000 sq m above the Exhibition Station, will give rise to a total additional space of less than 40 000 sq m. Compared with the additional space in Shenzhen and Shanghai I mentioned just now, a considerable gap still exists, so we must do our utmost to catch up with them.

Despite limited land resources in Hong Kong, we still have potential to increase convention and exhibition facilities. A site has already been reserved for Phase II of the AsiaWorld-Expo ("AWE") in the vicinity of the airport, and the expected convention and exhibition space to be provided is 100 000 sq m. Steady growth is recorded for the utilization of AWE Phase I each year, with an annual utilization rate of some 70%. Following the commissioning of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, new sources of visitors for convention and exhibition will be brought in from neighbouring cities. To dovetail with the development plan for Lantau, works have already been commenced for the Airport's North Commercial District, which will provide 200 000 sq m of commercial floor area and a 750-room hotel, to be commissioned in 2021. In view of the existing ancillary facilities on the island and the commissioning of a three-runway system in 2023, Lantau has the conditions for becoming the second convention, exhibition and reception centre in Hong Kong, and by then, AWE Phase I will be unable to cater for demand. I hope that the Government will, when expanding HKCEC in Wan Chai, expeditiously activate the feasibility study on developing AWE Phase II. As far as long-term development needs are concerned, the Government should continue to pay attention to the measures adopted by neighbouring competitors to develop the convention and exhibition industry, thus taking strategic moves; it should not refrain from giving up the feasibility of identifying other sites for convention and exhibition in the urban areas. Only when there is a large scale of facilities can, as indicated by Secretary Edward YAU, the convention and exhibition industry be developed into a leading industry of Hong Kong.

President, on developing featured tourism, creative tourism, heritage tourism and green tourism, the Policy Address this year proposes to develop and explore tourism products and projects with local and international characteristics, including cultural tourism, heritage tourism, green tourism and creative tourism to enrich visitors' experience. The Government will explore different green tourism attractions and collaborate with local districts to promote the development of sustainable green tourism, and examine ways to improve their supporting transport arrangements.

To promote local featured tourism and green tourism is not a new initiative, but the Government did not attach enough importance to it in the past. It was not until last year that the Hong Kong Tourism Board ("HKTB") allocated $5 million to implement a pilot scheme to promote in-depth green tourism. Although this is not a large amount of money, certain effect can still be seen. We have recently noted that many inbound visitors specifically visit our country parks and outlying islands for leisure travel, and they are also seen at a number of heritage sites. That said, a number of problems have been identified by the industry in the promotion of green tourism, featured tourism and heritage tourism.

First, ancillary infrastructure facilities are inadequate. Despite the resources committed by HKTB to step up the publicity of featured tourism and green tourism, the ancillary facilities at various tourist attractions, such as piers, transport facilities, accommodation, catering facilities and signage, have yet to be enhanced. In the case of the renowned tourist attractions such as Tung Ping Chau and Po Toi Island, despite having beautiful landscape and featured village structures, and even being named as a global geopark, transport links are inconvenient, and worse still, there is even a lack of infrastructure facilities, such as water and electricity. The existing infrastructure facilities cannot even meet the daily needs of villagers, let alone receiving tourists. If the villages are forced to receive tourists, a negative image will instead be created externally, and damage may even be caused to local ecology. I hope that the Government will have the commitment to make improvements. 

Second, the fragmentary information gives rise to safety hazards. Recently there are frequent press reports about visitors hiking during bad weather, losing their way and finding themselves in danger. This reflects our neglect to educate tourists and remind them about safety awareness when promoting featured tourism and green tourism, revealing that there is room to improve the dissemination of tourist information. Regarding safety precautions at various green tourist attractions, there is currently no mechanism to disseminate information that specifically caters for tourists. Such information is scattered in the publicity channels of HKTB, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department, and the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, as well as travel tips written by tourists. Given the lack of a set of platforms for disseminating information in a comprehensive, professional, timely, clear and unified manner, and the varying quality of directional signs and information at various country parks, visitors are inevitably perplexed. The Government needs to introduce a system to disseminate unified information, so as to offer convenience to members of the public and tourists.

Third, the problems of illegal accommodation and camping problems are increasingly serious. Recently, home-stay lodgings have emerged in various places of the world, and camping in the countryside has become popular on the Mainland. As a renowned tourist city in the region, Hong Kong receives over 25 million overnight tourists each year. Given the diversified needs of tourists, they have different accommodation demands. In view of this, some people have operated unlicensed guesthouses under the guise of home-stay lodgings, and some people have exploited the lax administration of campsites in Hong Kong to illegally organize tourist groups to camp in non-campsites in Hong Kong. Home-stay lodgings and popular campsites are attractions to netizens. Since they are not familiar with the actual conditions of Hong Kong, they can easily be misled by people with ulterior motives. As there are recently many press reports on such illegal cases, I hope that the Government will face up to the problem and step up law enforcement. In the long run, the Government should formulate a set of relatively lenient policies for developing home-stay lodgings in rural areas, while at the same time increase the number of campsites and further standardize the administration of campsites.

President, despite the abundant tourism resources in Hong Kong and its great advantages for developing featured tourism, creative tourism, heritage tourism and green tourism, the Government merely focused on man-made tourist attractions in the past and invested heavily in these attractions. Last year we approved a provision of $10.9 billion for the expansion of the Hong Kong Disneyland. I hope that the Government will adopt the same attitude in the future to support the development of green tourism and featured tourism. However, given the different conditions of various districts, the development of featured tourism shall not be undertaken across the board. The Government may consider first identifying certain well-known tourist attractions with convenient transport links as pilot tourist attractions, the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau will take the lead in formulating development plans and budgets, and other relevant Policy Bureaux will render their support. If there is no department to take the lead, various Policy Bureaux will shirk their responsibilities. Since the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau is responsible for tourism planning, it should naturally take the lead. With the support of various Policy Bureaux, the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau will formulate supportive policy on the provision of ancillary facilities at target tourist attractions, such as water, electricity, transport, communication and accommodation, and conduct publicity. With lessons drawn from successful experience, other potential tourist attractions will be developed gradually. On the premise of striking a balance between conservation and promotion of rural economy, quality featured tourism and green tourism will be developed.

On promoting smart tourism, in her Policy Address the Chief Executive proposes to develop smart city and promote smart tourism, including exploring electronic payment and launching a pilot multi-functional smart lampposts scheme. To promote smart tourism, Wi-Fi facilities in tourist hotspots will be improved, tailor-made travel facilitation services will be provided at tourist attractions and border control points, and tourist information and public transport information will be sent to inbound tourists' mobile phones.

In my view, the aforesaid measures are only the first step for promoting smart tourism, and we must keep abreast of the times in view of the huge demand from local and overseas consumers. Given the capital, talent and geographical location of Hong Kong, and coupled with the newly established Innovation and Technology Bureau, the Government has the confidence and determination to promote the development of Hong Kong as the most advanced smart city in the region by breaking away from the conventions to initiate a scientific revolution in Hong Kong. Smart city and smart tourism are closely related. Smart tourism not only caters for inbound visitors, both members of the public and visitors will benefit from the scientific infrastructure of the entire city. For building a smart city, I have the following proposals.

First, with multi-functional lampposts as the platform, an information system for a smart city should be established. In recent years, multi-functional smart lampposts have been introduced in various countries. The functions of such lampposts usually include data collection and measurement of traffic volumes, air quality or rainfall. Such lampposts, coupled with smart screens, can at the same time be used for information dissemination and advertisement, and Wi-Fi hotspots can also be installed on such lampposts. As members of the public have increasingly stringent requirements on information, modern smart lampposts, with its functions further upgraded, will undoubtedly gradually replace traditional channels for dissemination of tourist information. I hope that future smart lampposts will, apart from providing general information services mentioned just now, further provide information concerning the six major elements of tourism, namely dining, accommodation, transport, recreation, sight-seeing and shopping in local districts, so as to provide the public and visitors with timely and useful information.

As far as modern technology is concerned, it is not difficult to increase the functions of smart lampposts; what matters most is whether the information provided by the platform is timely and practical, and whether the operation is simple and convenient, so as to offer convenience to different users. I hope that in the future, additional functions will be added to the smart lamppost, such as transaction, guided tour services and delivery service, so that visitors will get electronic coupons while receiving information, and hence the commercial sector and stakeholders will also benefit. Lamppost information and mobile applications can be combined into a unified platform, so that inbound visitors or Hong Kong people will obtain the latest information in a timely manner, and experience the rapid development of Hong Kong in terms of smart tourism.

Second, the Government should step up cooperation with businesses to enhance user experience. If the SAR Government wants to promote a smart city, it should first dare to think outside the box, and encourage government-business cooperation. As reflected from the experience of such cities as Amsterdam, Copenhagen and New York, government-business cooperation will be conducive to enhancing efficiency, promoting industry innovation, enhancing innovative ideas, technology and services of government bodies by utilizing frontline talent, technology and expertise of businesses, as well as effectively sharing risks and enhancing cost-effectiveness, thus enabling cooperation projects to have considerable room for sustainable development.

In order to face competition, businesses must focus on a certain specific area to innovate incessantly, and keep developing competitive products in response to user demand. For example, the Airport Authority Hong Kong studied the use of robot arms for baggage loading to save manpower. Recently, it introduced baggage tags embedded with radio-frequency identification chips, making it convenient for inbound visitors to track the whereabouts of their baggages before they are delivered to the baggage carousel of the airport. This technology is the first of its kind in the world, which, apart from offering convenience to visitors and members of the public, is conducive to improving the image of Hong Kong as a smart city. For this reason, if the Government wants to expedite the development of a smart city, it must utilize the resources under the Innovation and Technology Fund to invite experienced and capable businesses for cooperation, capitalize on their advantages to provide technological assistance in a targeted manner, and introduce featured products onto the cooperation platform, so as to make smart tourism in Hong Kong more creative.

Third, the opening up of big data of the Government and businesses should be encouraged to assist young people in starting up businesses. In a smart city, there is a general trend that big data is used to analyse user demand to guide various industries in increasing production and enhancing services. However, since data collection cannot be adequately handled by SMEs, I advise the Government to take the lead to cooperate with professional organizations to, based on the needs of market development, develop and collect big data for use by SMEs, so as to provide more assistance to young people for starting up businesses, and make the tertiary industry of Hong Kong more diversified.

President, Hong Kong is oriented toward services sectors, and the tourism industry is closely related to other consumer industries. The value of total retail sales in September recently announced by the Government recorded an annual increase of 5.6%, and visitor arrivals to Hong Kong over the same period recorded an annual growth of 4.8%. With reference to the value of total retail sales and visitor arrivals over the past two years, a drop in visitor arrivals to Hong Kong was usually accompanied by a drop in the value of total retail sales. As with the case of the recent rise in visitor arrivals to Hong Kong, the value of total retail sales also recorded an increase. The correlation between visitor arrivals and the value of total retail sales of Hong Kong is a proof that the contribution of the tourism industry is not limited to 5% of our gross domestic product as announced by the Government, but the ripple effects are far greater than what we can imagine. For this reason, I hope that the Government will, while pursuing economic development, have more regard to the development of the tourism industry, understand more the passive position of small and medium travel agencies in the face of online competition and direct selling from product suppliers, and provide timely assistance. I expect to see more measures that are more practical to support the tourism industry in the Budget. With these remarks,

President, I support the Motion of Thanks.