The Great Tourist Bazar

Three years ago, the pundits almost wrote Hong Kong off. Well, they were right to a point, but not quite. The economy did take a beating in the wake of the territory's return to China after 150 years of British rule, and, fearful that the People's Liberation Army would march in over the Lo Wu border to take the place in its iron grip, tourists did indeed stay away from it for a while. But the pundits misjudged Hong Kong's ability to quickly overcome adversity. Three years later, the territory seems to have outlived the immediate political trauma of its handover, and tourists, like investors and businessmen, are flocking back.

 

Hong Kong may not have the best beaches in the world, or the highest mountains, or a culture going back thousands of years, yet 10.7 million tourists visited this tiny dot of a place in 1999, while, for example, only 2.5 million came to India. This year, the number is expected to go up to 11.4 million, which would be close to the peak of 11.7 million reached in 1996.

What makes Hong Kong such a darling among tourists, more than even Singapore, which received 6.9 million visitors in 1999? Well, many things, actually. There's shopping, of course, offering some of the best bargains in the top international class. There's fine specialty dining, certainly the best Chinese food to be found anywhere in the world. There's the fun and the excitement of 24-hour gambling in Macau, only a short, smooth jetfoil ride away. There's the gleam and the glitter of one of the most picturesque and modern cities on earth. There's the sheer pleasure of walking among some of the tallest and most beautiful buildings in the world, designed by some of the world's most famous architects. And there's the lure of China's business market and ancient culture, a vast world waiting to be explored just across the border. Tourists love this diversity, which few other destinations have. In Hong Kong, there's no such thing as a dull moment. Visitors like the feeling and enjoy the freedom.

Now there's an added reason for tourists to go to Hong Kong. Madame Tussaud's has just opened a branch of its famous wax museum in the territory, where 100 models are displayed initially, including those of Chinese action star Jackie Chan and Princess Diana in one of her own gowns. The 15,000 sq. ft. museum, built on the Peak for an investment of $15.4 million, will add to its display as it goes along, and the attraction will be unbeatable. You get Tussaud's and 'dim sum' in the same package without having to travel to London, Las Vegas, or Amsterdam. Great.

Come 2005, there will also be a Disneyland theme park in Hong Kong, one more excuse to visit the place to get some genuine Disney fun on affordable budgets. Reclamation work is going on at Penny's Bay on Lantau Island, where the park will be built and where Hong Kong's new airport is located.

There are other stones the authorities are ready to turn to entrench Hong Kong's future as a tourist destination. For example, they have announced their decision to bid for the 15th Asian Games in 2006, which should bring in tourists along with business. This December, a new signature event will be launched, called "Hong Kong Euro-Christmas," where tourists will be able to taste the spirit of European Christmas, complete with artificial snow.

It's all part of a bigger picture. What we are really witnessing is the creation of a gigantic East Asian tourism machine. Hong Kong with its diversities, Macau with its fun, and the mainland with its Great Wall, its Forbidden City, its stone forests, and its terracotta warriors represent a temptation that's difficult to beat and a tourist market that's already the world's biggest. Wait till Taiwan fully resolves its political dispute with the mainland.