Keynote speech by SCST at Redefining Hong Kong: Culture, Sports & Tourism forum (English only)
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Catherine (Chief Executive Officer of South China Morning Post, Ms Catherine So), Allan (Chairman and CEO of Lan Kwai Fong Group, Dr Allan Zeman), Bernard (Chairman of Our Hong Kong Foundation and Chairman of M+ Board, Mr Bernard Chan), distinguished guests, friends from South China Morning Post, ladies and gentlemen,
I have great pleasure joining all of you this morning to share a few observations on redefining Hong Kong's culture, sports and tourism. As a start, I would like to share the exciting news that this year, Hong Kong has a rather successful first eight months tourism-wise. We welcomed over 33 million visitors thus far, which is a 12 per cent increase year on year. With this promising performance, I am quite confident that we will be able to achieve our target of receiving 49 million visitors by the end of 2025, a 10 per cent above last year; 5.15 million visitors in August alone, which is a 16 per cent growth year on year. This impressive performance is the collective effort of a lot of stakeholders and practitioners in the tourism and related sectors, many of whom are in the audience today. But indeed I should also thank every man and woman in the community who have so very kindly responded positively to my invitation on the first day of appointment as SCST to be a tourism ambassador. This, on its own, can be a powerful means to redefine Hong Kong. To all of you, please accept my heartfelt appreciation and gratitude!
For key stakeholders of the culture, sports and tourism fields that are with me this morning, I am sure you are all very much aware that during the past two years since we emerged from COVID and related social and travel restrictions, the travel patterns, preferences and behaviour of tourists worldwide have undergone significant changes. What has worked fine and easy before the pandemic is no longer the panacea in our effort to recover our ground as a premier travel destination. Shopping for luxurious items, for example, is now a much lower priority for at least a good portion of our tourists, especially the younger ones among them. In-its-stead, tourists these days look for immersive experiences, one-of-a-kind treatments, an escape from reality, or even just a dose of cuteness on-the-go.
So what is Hong Kong's response? Less than a month after I was appointed SCST on December 5 last year, building on the solid work of the Tourism Commission, I announced the Development Blueprint for Hong Kong's Tourism Industry 2.0 in end-December 2024. That Blueprint was meant to be a transformative roadmap for tourism. A four-pronged positioning for tourism development and four major development strategies were presented, alongside 133 specific measures designed to revive the glory of Hong Kong's tourism industry.
I believe most of you have heard me outline the four positioning, and four strategies in the Blueprint at least once and, sorry guys, if you have heard it numerous times already! Don't worry, this is not going to be another repetition of those. Actually I would like the facts, figures and customer reviews to speak for themselves, and to testify to the relevance and effectiveness of what was proposed in the Blueprint. At the heart of Blueprint 2.0 is a recognition of Hong Kong's unique cultural legacy, international outlook, natural beauty, and our proven ability to stage spectacular events with great efficiency and strong value-for-money. One of the key highlights of Blueprint 2.0 is to position culture and sports as cornerstones of our tourism strategy, so as to act out our policy of integrating culture, sports and tourism to create greater synergies and maximum value. To this end, we introduced the concept of "Culture + Tourism" and "Sports + Tourism" among other things.
Let me begin with Culture. I said in a recent interview with RTHK (Radio Television Hong Kong) that culture needs to be cultivated. Nurturing a one-of-a-kind cultural proposition for Hong Kong is the key if our policy of integrating culture and tourism is to succeed in this post-pandemic era when tourists all look for authentic experiences. Culture is not a backdrop, nor is it simply a means to drive economic development; it is the essence of our collective identity, and it shapes the content of our storytelling and our exchanges with visitors. By sharing compelling narratives of Hong Kong's unique and special cultural heritage, we can forge deeper connections with our valued visitors. Thanks to the tireless efforts of many devoted organisations and activities over the years, often with substantial government support, we can now comfortably call ourselves an East-meets-West cultural hub. From amazing performances of traditional Chinese Xiqu (operas) sung in different dialects to musicals with a taste of Guangdong and Hong Kong; from mesmerising modern dance dramas featuring Song-dynasty poets, classical literature masterpieces and Hong Kong comic favourites by local and mainland groups to traditional interpretations of French and Italian ballet and operas top quality visiting companies; to name but a few, these iconic and successful shows offered by the Hong Kong Arts Festival, the Chinese Culture Festival, and the West Kowloon Cultural District amply demonstrate the vibrancy, variety, international outlook, and strong Chinese cultural heritage that together shaped Hong Kong's cultural and art scene. On top of this, a great variety of important visual arts and pop culture events have also been staged in Hong Kong earlier this year with solid support from the Mega Arts and Cultural Events Fund, including Art Basel Hong Kong 2025, Art Central 2025, ComplexCon Hong Kong 2025, and many more. All these created a sense of FOMO (fear of missing out) for our Mainland and overseas friends, thereby inducing increased tourist inflow.
Now I would like to turn your focus to sports. Sports is much more than just engaging in competitions and achieving enviable physiques. It can be a powerhouse in drawing tourists. For anyone who fancies action and excitement, Hong Kong is your go-to city! Mega sports events are another integral piece shaping our tourism landscape. The Kai Tak Sports Park, the HK$30 billion, biggest-ever sports infrastructure investment in Hong Kong's history, was commissioned officially in March this year, and has since elevated to the status of the Temple of Mega Sports Events after staging a series of eye-catching and breath-taking events. As a thriving hub for major international sports events, Hong Kong is committed to supporting and promoting large scale international sports events through the "M" Mark system. "M" Mark supports, among others, marketing and publicity channels to encourage greater participation from both locals and tourists, with an aim to foster a stronger sports culture while boosting our economy.
Over the past eight months, Hong Kong has successfully staged 16 "M" Mark events. In the last weekend of March this year, the Hong Kong Sevens, international Rugby Sevens, drew over 110 000 spectators during its three match days, marking a 13 per cent increase over the last edition in 2024. Of these, over 30 per cent (or more than 30 000) were non-locals, and I'm sure you have all seen for yourselves, either on site or on TV, just how ravelling the atmosphere and how international the crowd was, and for which many commentators rightfully drew the conclusion that Hong Kong Sevens is the best Sevens in the world in terms of atmosphere and excitement! How invaluable these images are in redefining what Hong Kong was like in the minds of at least some overseas.
Rugby Sevens aside, we cannot not mention football as a major tourist magnet. Earlier in May, 33 000 football fans filled Hong Kong Stadium to witness, I'm sad to say, a struggling Manchester United team winning their only trophy of the season after beating a handsomely performed Hong Kong, China team. Later in July, the Hong Kong Football Festival 2025 staged two matches at Kai Tak Stadium, featuring four top international football teams - Liverpool (FC), AC Milan, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur. A total of close to 100 000 fans, at least 30 000 of them tourists, enjoyed themselves immensely while watching great football and cheering till losing their voice at the same time. Last but not the least, the Saudi Super Cup held just 10 days ago brought four top Saudi teams, and Cristiano Ronaldo amongst them, to Hong Kong and put some 80 000 fans in awe in both Hong Kong Stadium and Kai Tak Stadium.
These examples are indeed powerful illustrations of Hong Kong's increasingly sharpening edge as an events venue. With its world-class and state-of-the-art venues, the Kai Tak Sports Park now plays a pivotal role in our effort to elevate Hong Kong as Asia's events capital to a whole new level.
Of course, participants in sports are most excited and loyal when the teams and athletes they love play well. And in turn, this will inject more energy for players to go faster, stronger and further. My bureau is committed to propelling sports development through promoting sports in the community, supporting elite athletes, establishing Hong Kong as a hub for major international sports events, enhancing professionalism and developing sports as an industry. Despite the current financial climate, this financial year, we have earmarked an estimated $9.2 billion for sports - which is more than double the figure from a decade ago. The substantial investment underscores our dedication to cultivating a dynamic sports industry in Hong Kong. So my friends, watch this space for more events more "World no. 1s" and more history-making performances, such as what Coleman Wong did at the U.S. Open, in the months and years to come.
I guess whenever I speak of mega events these days, I can't skip mega concerts held, where else, but at the Kai Tak Sports Park. Together with the football and rugby matches I mentioned just now, the concerts of Coldplay, Nicholas Tse, Mayday, JJ Lin, and G.E.M. have helped bring over 1 million spectators to the Kai Tak Sports Park since its opening six months ago today. The vibrancy and diverse offerings of Hong Kong as a one-stop destination for mega sports events, high quality cultural and arts performances, premier shopping and dining hub will undoubtedly leave a lasting impression on visitors. All this will continue with hopefully the help of even greater contribution and effort from everyone, so that together we will foster stronger synergy, driving further economic development in our beloved city. Beyond ticket sales and event souvenirs, these events create extensive business and employment opportunities for various industries such as hotels, catering, retail, transportation, etc, giving a significant boost to the local economy. We will continue to work closely with all the stakeholders to develop the economic potential of the culture, sports and tourism industry to the fullest extent.
I am sure all of you would have felt that Hong Kong is experiencing a remarkable bloom in culture and sports tourism, and I surely await with great interest fellow speakers sharing their wisdom on how to make the most out of this promising trend.
In closing, I look forward to seeing all of you often at different events in different parts of Hong Kong, as organisers, sponsors, members of the audience, and last but certainly not the least, as Hong Kong's smiling tourism ambassadors.
Thank you very much.
Ends/Monday, September 1, 2025
Issued at HKT 13:12
Issued at HKT 13:12
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