Following are the opening remarks by the Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, Miss Rosanna Law, at the World Tourism Cities Federation Hong Kong Fragrant Hills Tourism Summit 2025 - Main Forum II: Hong Kong Tourism Development Forum today (April 16):

王海民董事長(Chairman of the China Tourism Group, Mr Wang Haimin), Dr Peter Lam (Chairman of the Hong Kong Tourism Board), distinguished guests, friends from the international tourism community and fellow stakeholders,

     Good morning. First of all, a very warm welcome to all of you to Hong Kong once again for this important forum dedicated to the development of the tourism industry. As the Secretary for Culture, Sports, and Tourism, I am truly delighted to see so many passionate and talented counterparts and stakeholders from tourism related industries, home and away, gathered here today with the common goal of enhancing the vibrancy and sustainability of Hong Kong's tourism development.

     For decades, Hong Kong has captivated the world as a premier travel destination. With concerted effort of the Government and our industry partners, Hong Kong's tourism industry put up a strong comeback after the pandemic in 2023 and sustained with rising momentum in 2024, seeing a 31 per cent growth year-on-year in visitor arrivals. Stepping into the first quarter in 2025, we continued with an encouraging performance, welcoming over 12 million visitors, which represents a year-on-year increase of 9 per cent.

     A bright future of tourism development does not lie with increased visitor arrival numbers though. With the advancement in digital technology and changing consumer preferences under the global tourism landscape, we must embrace innovation and adapt our offerings to maintain our competitive edge. We must also be clear about Hong Kong's uniqueness and positioning in order to emerge stronger for future challenges.

     With this in mind, the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau promulgated in December last year the second Development Blueprint for Hong Kong's Tourism Industry - we call it Blueprint 2.0, setting out our vision and mission for the next five-year period from 2025 to 2030.

     Blueprint 2.0 proposes four major development strategies and 133 measures that span every facet of the industry including product development, visitor source expansion, smart tourism and service enhancement.

     With Blueprint 2.0 and the strong support from the Central People's Government in Beijing, I pledge to lead my team to strengthen ties and collaboration with stakeholders both within and outside the Government to implement Blueprint 2.0. I shall also empower and assist our trade practitioners to unleash Hong Kong's tourism offerings in full.

     Tourism is a fast-moving and ever-changing landscape. The spirit of "steering changes" in Blueprint 2.0 is a key to meeting challenges ahead and seizing opportunities for growth. I encourage stakeholders to break out from the boundaries of previous endeavours, even old patterns of success. Let us be bold to come out of our comfort zones and embrace new innovation and technology, and bring out new proposals that can inject fresh impetus into Hong Kong's tourism industry.

     Today's forum offers great opportunity for putting our heads together for the future of Hong Kong's tourism industry. Hong Kong's hosting of this year's Fragrant Hills Summit also showcases our strategic advantages in fostering deeper international exchanges and co-operation in the area of tourism development, and in bringing together industry leaders worldwide for fruitful deliberation and swift actions. I look forward to writing the next chapter of Hong Kong's tourism story – one filled with innovation, resilience and boundless opportunities, with all of you.

     Thank you.

Ends/Wednesday, April 16, 2025
Issued at HKT 10:17

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