Hong Kong’s Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Kevin Yeung attends the Straight Talk show on TVB, Feb 7, 2023. (PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)
As the government kicks off its "Hello Hong Kong" campaign, Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Kevin Yeung says more can be expected to draw visitors to Hong Kong, while more global events are being negotiated for hosting in Hong Kong. But he advises not to expect an immediate or even short-term return on investment from the HK$100 million being spent. The effort is to bring longer term effect and impact to the economy.
Check out the full transcript of TVB’s Straight Talk host Dr Eugene Chan’s interview with Kevin Yeung.
Chan: Good evening! This is Eugene Chan on Straight Talk. Our guest this evening is the Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, Kevin Yeung. This year marks his 30th year in civil service, having worked in a number of bureaux and departments. He was the secretary for education under the last administration. And as he now heads a newly-formed bureau, we have asked him to share with us how tourism can help revive Hong Kong. Welcome, Kevin!
Yeung: Thank you. Thank you, Eugene.
Chan: Kevin, congratulations on your 30th year of serving Hong Kong in general. And what an exciting time it is for you to be in charge of tourism! We just had that “Hello, Hong Kong” campaign rolling out last week. So, how's the feedback so far?
Yeung: Well, so far, we've received very positive feedback, both from the trade, from people in Hong Kong and also from people overseas and in the mainland. And I think the idea of having a very large-scale campaign is to give a big bang effect, both to our tourists’ source market, as well as in Hong Kong as well. Because receiving tourists is not just asking tourists to come, we also have to make sure that their experience in Hong Kong is a pleasant experience and a special experience. And so, every one of us in Hong Kong has a role to play. If we meet any tourist on the street, we have our roles to introduce what's happening in Hong Kong, and also to show them what the beauty of Hong Kong.
Chan: Right, secretary. I mean, I've watched your promotional video with some of the stars like Kelly Chan, Aaron Kwok and even Sammi Cheng. I mean, in those videos, what are the wow factors? I mean, you said a big bang effect. I mean, apart from us knowing them, they are superstars, how would that big bang effect come from that video?
Yeung: I think the idea…it is actually the idea, because this is just one of the videos we have prepared. Actually, the Hong Kong Tourism Board has prepared a number of videos with different people, maybe from the chambers of commerce, and also from some KOL, celebrities, and a lot of people. And also, we have been arranging some celebrities and KOL coming to Hong Kong to see for themselves, what is being offered in Hong Kong. And so, they can, through their own channel, send the message back to their home country, and also to their people. So, I think it’s just last week, we have a worldwide launch. And this have all the publicity we need both in Hong Kong and overseas. And to tell everyone that Hong Kong is back, and then it's up to them to come over to see I think that's most important.
Chan: Right. So, it's very reassuring to know that there'll be more videos coming, more promotion. It's just the beginning last week.
Yeung: It's just the beginning. And I must tell you that many videos will be shown overseas, they may not be showing Hong Kong because our market is overseas and also in the (Chinese) mainland. And so, when you see the promotion method, a lot of these promotional efforts are actually done in our source markets, tourists’ source markets rather than in Hong Kong. In Hong Kong, we just have to boost up the morality and so that people in Hong Kong feel they are part of it.
Chan: Sorry, I was going to interrupt you to ask you, there has been a lot of publicity, the big bang was the half a million free air tickets going to be offered to overseas, sort of for inbound travelers. But when you look at the 2019, we had like 55 million visitors. And of course, that has really tanked during the pandemic and in 2022, we just come back to say 600,000 people. So, what is this half a million tickets going to do? I mean, we have a big shortfall. What do you… how many people do you expect that it's going to bring to Hong Kong?
Yeung: I think that the purchase of tickets serves two purposes. I think the Airport Authority has already mentioned that before. It purchased the tickets in 2020, it was at the time when the airline was suffering great impact from the pandemic, with all the businesses gone. And so, the Airport Authority at that time, decided to purchase a number of tickets for two purposes. One is to help the airlines through that particular difficult time. And the other is for the promotion that we are going to launch. And the 500,000 tickets, I think, will create an impact. It is very good invitation for our tourists to come to Hong Kong, it is like an invitation card. Of course, when the airlines, when they give out the tickets, it will depend on the market or the places that the airline is in, for example, in Malaysia, in Singapore. They may use different means to do that depending on the customs and practices at that place. But it's a very clear message: we welcome you to come to Hong Kong, we want you to come here to see for yourself the latest development in Hong Kong, we want to invite you to come here to enjoy our latest, new tourist attractions like the M+, the Palace Museum at the West Kowloon Cultural District, and all the green scenery and cultural and heritage tourist spots that we have been preparing over the past three years. So, that's the whole idea.
Chan: Right, secretary. I understand it’s only one single ticket offered. Hopefully they will bring more family and friends to come with them, right? I also saw that the campaigns could roll out to Southeast Asia and also mainland first. Are you going to do anything to the more long-haul customers like the US, Australia, Europe, or even England?
Yeung: I think in preparing for the promotion, we have to do it gradually and also at different target markets. Before the pandemic, we were aware that over 30 percent of our tourists are coming from Southeast Asia or from Asia and another 30 percent, maybe it's from the mainland. So, when we start the promotion, we focus on our strongest markets first. So, we focus on Asia and also the mainland first and then gradually we will go to the long-haul markets as well.
Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Kevin Yeung speaks to Straight Talk's Eugene Chan, Feb 7, 2023. (PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)
Chan: Another area I'm sure the viewers will want me to ask you, is that if you look at Hong Kong's news, I mean, both Cathay Pacific and Hong Kong Express have said that it's going to take them like end of 2023 to go back to like 70 percent of their capacity. And also, for the retail and tourists and F&B outlets, we know that there has been a drop in like over 90-80 percent between 2018 to 2021, about the manpower, and people actually in the industry. So, is Hong Kong going to be prepared for this? Because I remember, like 10 years ago, we had a big sort of friction between Hong Kong residents and the mainland visitors, because we aren't prepared. So, have we learned our lesson this time?
Yeung: Well, I think we are drumming up our capacity to receive our tourists, both from the mainland and from overseas. And that's why as many … well, if you look at many places overseas, and many countries as well, usually it takes about one year to pick up to around 70 to 80 percent of their previous capacity or the previous number of tourists. I think it will happen the same in Hong Kong. And as the number grows, I think we will also build up our capacity, and I'm pretty confident that we will be able to receive our tourists in a very orderly and a very good manner.
Chan: Right, Kevin, you know, many people, even over a casual table conversation, we said that we are short of people. So, I mean, without talents or even just normal workers, how can we serve them properly? Do you have any plans to sort of drum up our actual manpower supply?
Yeung: I think that's a common problem. I think if you listen to people's in various industries, they all express that they… it seems the frontline workers or the frontline staff are in shortage and they are trying to recruit more. I think recently the Disney has a major recruitment, trying to get more employees to come in to serve their company. I think what the government as a whole is considering this issue whether we have really facing a very serious problem of the frontline worker issue. But in the tourism industry, we are in close contact with the trade partners and if there are any issues that the government can do, we are happy to further consider and discuss that.
Chan: Right, secretary. I also see that in the campaign apart from all these big bang effect that we are going to invite more VIPs to come to Hong Kong and I believe you will be leading delegations overseas because we saw Financial Secretary Paul Chan in Switzerland holding a tablet and explaining to people on the street. Would that be seen as too much of a desperate move? Are we that desperate?
Yeung: Well, that's part and parcel of our work. Hong Kong is a small economy, we are also an open economy. We always have to maintain the liaison with different places worldwide. And so, we are consistently inviting our guests, VIPs and business people from overseas to come to Hong Kong. At the same time, we are very actively going out to promote Hong Kong and to link up Hong Kong businesses with overseas businesses. And that's part and parcel of our daily work. And in this campaign, I think the chief executive has said one of two areas that we will be doing is to invite more VIP celebrities to come to Hong Kong, so that they have the first-hand information about Hong Kong. Because in the past three years because of the pandemic, the traffic basically stopped. And it's time that people will come to Hong Kong and know more. And the other is we will be actively going out. I think that's very important as well as to catch up what we should be doing in the past three years.
Chan: Right, secretary, thank you very much. And let's go for a break now. And viewers, please stay with us. We will be right back.
Chan: Welcome back! We have been talking with Kevin Yeung, the secretary of culture, sports, and tourism, about the recently launched “Hello Hong Kong” program. Will this revive our tourism sector and our economy? That is the question. So, secretary, you had a very strong point saying that it is a big bang effect, we want to tell people to come to Hong Kong to see for themselves, and hopefully we all do our part to welcome the tourists, that was your message. I must ask you something more controversial. I am sure everybody wants to see this campaign successful, but from the advertising industry, they have criticized the campaign for not having a proper strategy. They said social media have been painting a negative picture of Hong Kong over the last few years, and saying Hong Kong is no longer the same, and people are leaving. And one travel website actually says that the new National Security Law for Hong Kong may be interpreted broadly, you could break the law without intending to, you may be at an increased risk of detention on vaguely defined national security grounds, the maximum penalty under the law in Hong Kong is life imprisonment. Sounds pretty bad, but we know it is not true. So, shall we address this head-on or just ignore it?
Yeung: Well, we are addressing these issues daily, whenever we see that there are some wrong reports, both locally or overseas, our government is very active and proactive to explain and to clarify. And I think some of the reports are, of course, I would not guess their intention, but I will say that some of the information are basically wrong. That's why we have to take a very proactive role to go out to explain what is happening in Hong Kong. And that is also one of the reasons why we so actively invite VIPs and also some KOLs to come to Hong Kong to see for themselves what is actually happening in Hong Kong. And I think when we say that Hong Kong has changed, I think every place is changing every day, but in Hong Kong, we are simply better and safer. And we are even a better place for business, for tourists, for everyone, for all locals to live in here. So, I would say that it is for everyone of us in Hong Kong to tell our story to our contacts, to our counterparts, maybe in overseas or in the mainland. And at the same time, we would… the government will continue to take an active role and proactive role in explaining Hong Kong to everyone in the rest of the world.
Chan: Thank you for explaining to us that the government is going to be proactively handling on that issue. Now your portfolio also has culture and sports as well. And you know, the recent international events, with them basically removing all travel restrictions – the Rugby 7s and all that have been a great success. We are looking forward to more international events, we were asking you in the make-up room just now. But some people have also said that everything that has been happening so far that we can see, like the Clockenflap, Arts in Hong Kong, Art Basel, the Marathon next week, are all old events. They are looking for more wow factors, as I said earlier in the show. Do you have anything on your drawing board that you may not be able to tell us?
Yeung: We are planning for a number of new events that are new to Hong Kong or the first time to come to Hong Kong. But some of the events are still under discussion. So, I think we will not disclose a lot openly at this stage. But you will appreciate that in the past, we are just opening up our borders and also removing some of the travelling restrictions in the past 2-3 months. And, so, some of the negotiations in the past year, which had to be done in a very low-key manner. And there were a lot of uncertainties, so we could not really firm up at that stage, whether it will be happening in 2023 or 2024. But now that all these, the majority of our travel restrictions or inbound restrictions have been removed, we are confident and we are now pushing ahead with all those events on the drawing board. And I am sure that people, both in Hong Kong and overseas, will soon find that there are some major events happening in Hong Kong.
Chan: Right. Secretary, as you said, things are sort of improving as time goes on. But if you look at the promotion video, the only one that we can see, to watch, is that our celebrities aren’t wearing masks anymore. So, is that a sign for things to come? Like on Straight Talk, we used to wear masks as well, but now although we don’t have to because of the rules, but we are now sort of more relaxed. But for travelers coming in, they still have to do sort of some tests. So, is that going to have a mixed message to the people who want to come to Hong Kong?
Yeung: Well, it is a very clear message, I think the video is to welcome them to come to Hong Kong. And as the situation about the pandemic is improving, I am sure that we will be reviewing the situation very frequently to see whether it is time to have further relaxation. As we always say, we have to balance the health risks of our people against the all the other factors, like the economic benefits, and also the everyday life of our people. So, we have to make a judgement every now and then based on the latest pandemic situation, and based on science. But when compared with a few months ago, we are now a very welcoming city for those coming from overseas, they basically have to do a RAT before they board the plane. And then when they come to Hong Kong, I think it is just, most of the time, they may have to wear a mask outdoors and at some of the performances. But for dining and some of the activities, they can remove their masks. So, I think that is already a very great improvement. And it also is a protection to people here. So, I think that should be okay.
Chan: Right. Secretary, another reason why people want to come to Hong Kong is for shopping because we always have Hong Kong called “a shopping paradise”, especially we don’t have any value added tax and sales tax. But honestly, many people come to Hong Kong and purchase those… I mean branded goods, they are not really our products. So, really the effect on Hong Kong’s actual growth in the whole market isn’t that great except the associated F&B or travelling whatnot. So, being in that important position as in charge of tourism, would you ever think of any new ideas, so that actually would benefit Hong Kong in general and build up Hong Kong’s capacity as, not just one, an attractive place; two, for actually helping the actual economy?
Yeung: Well, I think the tourism, when we look at tourists, it is not just the value of merchandise that they are bringing home. I think we are talking about the whole experience of when the tourists come over. Well, he or she will visit different places, to enjoy the beautiful Victoria Harbour, and beautiful scenery from The Peak. They could consider going to some of the major cultural and sporting events, they can go to our new West Kowloon Cultural District with the new museums, and revamped or renovated Museum of Arts, and all these are good experiences. And in the past 3 years, we have been developing our green tour, as well as the cultural and heritage tours. These are all small but important local economy that could bring economic benefits to the people around at these places. And also, in addition to shopping, one of the very important businesses is the different cuisine that we have. In Hong Kong, we have all the Eastern, Western cuisines, as well as all the traditional and new style Michelin Star restaurants. All these are bringing in economic benefits to Hong Kong.
Chan: Secretary, cost of this “Hello Hong Kong’” campaign is about HK$2 billion, a lot more than the Relaunch Hong Kong campaign in 2020, which didn’t end up to be a great success at all. So, how many… if we look at the return on investment, ROI, how many visitors or how much money derived from tourism are you expecting, in short?
Yeung: For the “Hello Hong Kong” campaign, we are… the Hong Kong Tourism Board, is planning for around HK$100 million for this current year. And I am sure they will be providing more funding for them in the coming financial year. But when we look at the tourism, it is not just counting the return in a short period of time, we are looking at… for example, we are planning to spend, as I just said, HK$100 million, for the remaining few months. We are not expecting that many tourists coming in the next 3-4 months. But it is going to create an impact that will draw more tourists coming in, in the coming year or 2 years. And it also creates a better image about Hong Kong, which also bring in business people, and other people coming to Hong Kong for other purposes. And also we have to consider the all the exhibitions and summits, and all the MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences exhibitions) tourists, which are also very important to us.
Chan: Secretary, I am going to ask you a last question. As you know, the Leisure and Culture portfolio was under the Home Affairs Bureau last term, on your past. And tourism was under CSTB. Now you have all the portfolio under your arms. And how are you going to make Hong Kong sort of a “East meets West” center for international cultural exchanges, as the national policies have wanted to do as… have always wanted to do. Do you think that is going to happen?
Yeung: I am very confident that it is going to happen. But I think given the limited time that we have left for this program, it is very difficult to explain in detail, but we are confident, and we are working with all our partners in the community, including the culture, sports, and tourism sectors, to make it happen.
Chan: Thank you, Secretary, for letting us know. We will definitely invite you back to talk more about how culture and sports will help Hong Kong’s tourism. Thank you, Secretary, for coming this evening to share the government’s latest strategies for tourism sector. Let’s hope “Hello Hong Kong” will really be a catalyst to the revival of Hong Kong and its economy. Have a good week and good night!