Following is a question by the Hon Mrs Regina Ip and a written reply by the Secretary for Environment and Ecology, Mr Tse Chin-wan, in the Legislative Council today (September 25):

Question:

     There are views pointing out that tourism experiences at quite a number of rural and remote tourist attractions are impacted by a lack of nearby restaurants for visitors to dine in. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) whether it has compiled statistics on the numbers of existing licensed restaurants at rural attractions in Outlying Islands, North District, Sai Kung, Sha Tin and Yuen Long, as well as at remote attractions in Southern District, together with a breakdown by licence type; if it has not kept such figures, of the reasons for that;

(2) of the respective numbers of applications received and approved by the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) over the past three years for various types of restaurant licences concerning the attractions in the districts mentioned in (1);

(3) of the respective numbers of applications received, approved and rejected by the FEHD over the past three years for various types of restaurant licences concerning Shek O, Sha Tau Kok, Cheung Sha, Pui O and Pak Nai, and the reasons for application rejection;

(4) whether the Government has currently formulated measures to attract tourists to visit restaurants at rural and remote attractions, such as expediting improvements to transport and communication network facilities in those areas; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

(5) given that the Government proposed in the 2020 Policy Address that the Countryside Conservation Office work with relevant bureaux/departments to jointly develop a set of licensing requirements and procedural guidelines designed especially for guesthouses and catering business in countryside areas, making reference to the special nature and restrictions of rural settings, of the current work progress and the expected time for introducing such requirements and guidelines?

Reply:

President,

     Having consulted the the Transport and Logistics Bureau, and the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau, the reply to the question raised by the Hon Mrs Regina Ip is as follow:

(1) As at August 31, 2025, the number of restaurant licences in Southern District, Islands, North District, Sai Kung, Sha Tin, and Yuen Long are tabulated below. The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) does not maintain breakdown of statistics of restaurants located in remote areas of each district:
 

District	General restaurants (GR)	Light refreshment restaurants (LRR)	Marine restaurants
Southern	266	71	1
Islands	348	184	0
North	311	73	0
Sai Kung	462	134	0
Sha Tin	741	183	0
Yuen Long	787	258	0
Total	2 915	903	1

(2) Over the past three years, the number of restaurant licence applications received and approved by the FEHD in the abovementioned districts are tabulated below:
 

District		Number of applications and approval cases (Note)
		2022		2023		2024
		GR	LRR	GR	LRR	GR	LRR
Southern	Application	21	3	19	11	32	8
	Approval cases	33	2	13	4	29	11
Islands	Application	14	8	17	11	19	11
	Approval cases	22	9	16	5	12	12
North	Application	37	7	21	4	17	12
	Approval cases	47	8	23	7	17	8
Sai Kung	Application	38	19	26	22	30	19
	Approval cases	73	24	23	10	25	18
Sha Tin	Application	55	21	92	30	66	16
	Approval cases	47	13	71	21	79	25
Yuen Long	Application	75	22	62	31	51	28
	Approval cases	65	23	66	13	42	26
Total	Application	240	80	237	109	215	94
	Approval cases	287	79	212	60	204	100

Note: The applications approved might not be received in the same year.

(3) Between 2022 and August 31, 2025, the FEHD received four restaurant licence applications at rural tourist spots in Islands, North District, Sai Kung, Sha Tin, Yuen Long, and remote locations in Southern District. An application for a restaurant licence in Sha Tau Kok has been approved; another one in Cheung Sha was considered withdrawn due to failure of the applicant to remove unauthorised structures as required by relevant departments; and two snack shop licence applications in Shek O are still being processed.

(4) The Government attaches importance to enhancing transportation and telecommunication network in remote countryside area. At present, many hiking spots located away from the city centre are connected by well-developed public transport services and road network. The Transport Department (TD) has been closely monitoring the transport needs across various districts and coordinating with service providers to arrange public transport services for numerous hiking attractions located away from the city centre, for example, kaito ferry services to and from islands near the Sai Kung waters, to facilitate access by the public and visitors to these attractions. Regarding other more remote countryside area, the TD will consider the road network and actual situation and conditions to arrange public transport services as appropriate to transport visitors to locations near these attractions. Furthermore, in Yan Chau Tong areas, to improve accessibility to popular rural attractions, ferry services running from Sha Tau Kok and Tai Shui Hang to Lai Chi Wo, Kat O and Ap Chau, etc., have been enhanced gradually in the past two years through coordination between the Government and the local communities. The Countryside Conservation Office is also reviewing means to improve accessibility to Kuk Po. These initiatives seek to benefit villagers, tourists and local food business operators.

     On telecommunications networks, the Office of the Communications Authority launched the Subsidy Scheme to Extend 5G Coverage in Rural and Remote Areas in July 2025 to subsidise mobile network operators to establish around 50 radio base stations in various rural area across Hong Kong. In addition, the Government will continue to implement the Subsidy Scheme to Extend Fibre-based Networks to Villages in Remote Areas. The new fibre-based networks are expected to be extended to a total of 235 villages in the New Territories and outlying islands by 2026, further strengthening network coverage in rural area.

(5) To promote eco-tourism, facilitate visitors and help revitalise desolate villages, the Government set up the inter-departmental Task Force on Guesthouse and Food Business Licences in Countryside Areas and formulated a series of streamlined measures to facilitate licence applications for the countryside villages in the New Territories that have no vehicular access taking into account the uniqueness of remote countryside. These streamlined measures cover various aspects, including town planning, land, fire safety, building safety and sanitary requirements, and have facilitated the successful grant of food business licences to the operators in Kuk Po and Yim Tin Tsai, Sai Kung.

     The Task Force is sorting out the details and implementation procedures of the streamlined measures and compiling a set of Guide to Application with its official release scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2025. The Government will continue to review opportunities for further enhancement of the licence application process for food business in countryside area, with a view to creating a more business-friendly environment there and promoting countryside conservation and revitalisation.

Ends/Thursday, September 25, 2025
Issued at HKT 12:30

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