The Hong Kong skyline at sunrise. Hong Kong is still a safe, well-connected, vibrant and dynamic place to live, work and visit. Photo: Getty Images/iStockphoto
Opinion
Ronald Chan
Ronald Chan
How Hong Kong can give the world reasons to fall back in love with it
From entertainment and sports to art and culture, Hong Kong needs a strategy to reinvent itself as an international lifestyle centre alongside its role as a global financial centre
Hong Kong is at a crossroads. The city needs to completely rethink its role globally and see how it can reinvent its brand and the way it is perceived. Hong Kong’s reputation as a residential, career or holiday destination has deteriorated over the years. We must change this for the better to be internationally competitive.
We have world-class infrastructure, gorgeous beaches, beautiful mountains and glittering skyscrapers all within 1,100 sq km. As many major cities struggle with structural issues, with high taxes and crime topping the list, Hong Kong is still a safe, well-connected, vibrant and dynamic place to live, work and visit.
So how do we change the narrative and present the new Hong Kong? I believe the answer is to focus on becoming an international lifestyle centre, in parallel with our role as a global financial centre. If Hong Kong is to successfully attract new talent, create a family office hub and remain internationally competitive, it needs to offer a lifestyle that the world desires.
Pre-pandemic, in 2018, Hong Kong had a record 65 million visitors, of which 51 million were from mainland China. Now, in a post-pandemic world, we should be more ambitious. We need to keep and grow our mainland visitor numbers, but we must also find compelling reasons to attract regional and international visitors. Vital to our success will be to think more holistically and strategically.
Consider entertainment. Jay Chou’s series of concerts at the Central Harbourfront this month sold out, attracting fans not just from Hong Kong and the mainland, but also Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. Hong Kong needs to become a must-stop destination when global artists tour Asia. At the same time, we must coordinate with major business and cultural events to attract the right visitor demographics and create win-win attractions.
Sports must be also key. The Hong Kong Sevens rugby tournament was part of our announcement to the world that the city is getting back to business after the pandemic. We have the new Kai Tak stadium opening in 2024 that will seat 50,000 people. We should be working strategically with football nations now to attract world-class teams to play invitation matches. Imagine the interest we would create regionally if Manchester City played Inter Milan for a Champions League rematch in Hong Kong?
We are getting back into the swing of hosting world-class golf and tennis tournaments as part of the international circuit. Looking at golf specifically, the very last thing our government should be doing is eroding these lifestyle assets. We will lose the opportunity to develop our local talent and drive away international visitors.
Hong Kong now needs to further promote and create regular, popular activities with our international counterparts. Think the likes of Le French May, Oktoberfest and the Thai Songkran Festival to establish Hong Kong as genuinely Asia’s World City.
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Water fights return to Hong Kong’s streets with first Songkran celebration since pandemic
Water fights return to Hong Kong’s streets with first Songkran celebration since pandemic
As we work with our international partners, wine-and-dine diplomacy must also be high on our international lifestyle centre agenda. Thanks to our zero-tax environment, Hong Kong has become a wine hub. The government should now be imaginative and consider making Hong Kong a whisky hub and eliminating the taxes, in particular for rare whisky auctions.
So where to go from here? I see three priorities. First, government and business must come together and design a sustainable, long-term plan to deliver the international lifestyle centre objective. Second, we need to create and give resources to a team dedicated to implementing the plan led by a newly appointed global Hong Kong brand ambassador.
Third, we must do a much better job of changing perceptions and getting Hong Kong back on the world map as a lifestyle and experience destination, simultaneously removing all the erroneous and damaging reputational baggage that persists.
Hong Kong has the potential to regain its position as an iconic global destination. We just need to give people reasons to fall back in love with us.
Ronald Chan is the founder and chief investment officer of Chartwell Capital Limited, a Hong Kong-based asset management company
