Tourism is on the rise and set to soar

Disney and Kiwis fuel tourist boom 

An easing of China travel restrictions, combined with a slew of new Hong Kong projects, including Disneyland, has seen tourist arrivals soar. 

Last year was a bumper year for New Zealanders visiting the city - a total of 89,522 arrived, an increase of almost 25 per cent. And with 2006 being Discover Hong Kong Year, that number is expected to climb. 

Official figures show that 23 million people visited the city last year, more than half of them (12.5 million) from mainland China. The past few years have seen a bumper number of mainland Chinese tourists travelling abroad, especially residents of the newly-rich provinces of the south.  

For mainland Chinese tourists on their first trip abroad, Hong Kong is the natural first stop, a comfortable blend of Chinese culture, Western sophistication and international consumerism.

"More people are coming from Guangdong province for visits - they come for a special purpose or to see a show," says Hong Kong Tourism Board executive director Clara Chong. 

"The Chinese market has different patterns - people from the north of the country come for sightseeing, shopping and for the entire experience. They tend to buy branded products, look for quality and also look for value." 

The rosy news on the tourism front, from China and elsewhere, is extraordinary considering that three years ago a groggy Hong Kong was enduring the nightmare of the Sars epidemic, a time that saw most of its 6.8 million people sporting surgical face masks, there were near-empty hotels, an airport with only a trickle of essential-business passengers and an overall mood of despair. 

Even the wildest optimist would not have predicted that within a few short years the city would be bustling once more and hosting a record-breaking number of visitors. The first three months of this year recorded 6.2 million arrivals, up 13.8 per cent on last year. 

This recent surge has been partially prompted by the opening of the Disneyland theme park, the world's smallest but, significantly, the first to be built on Chinese soil.  Ocean Park, the pioneer theme park in the city, located in a spectacular harbourside setting, recently announced plans for a major renovation and additional attractions. 

As well as promoting man-made attractions, tourism officials are keen to draw attention to the natural side of a city that has an abundance of mountains, trails and forests.

"People think of Hong Kong as dynamic and cosmopolitan, but 40 per cent of our land is country park," says Chong. "We want to raise awareness of that." 

Many visitors are astounded to discover that, within 20 minutes of leaving the downtown area, they can be alone, walking along a jungle path, with waterfalls cascading in the background. In fact on the southern side of the city's most popular tourist attraction, the Peak, a well-marked path down the slope is surrounded by dense undergrowth. 

Further afield is the country park of Sai Kung, with its soaring mountains and deserted beaches. A 100k walking route, the Maclehose Trail, winds its way around peaks and through the valleys; the most dramatic section, Stage Three, is a 10k hike that can easily be completed in a day; it takes an hour to reach Sai Kung from the urban area. 

For the less adventurous, Sai Kung town itself is a popular day trip, a place renowned for its seafront restaurants, traditional temples, friendly bars and laid-back atmosphere. 

But the urban attractions of Hong Kong, in particular the unlimited shopping opportunities and spectacular skyline, are always likely to be its main drawcard. A recent skyline addition was the Symphony of Lights show, whereby beams of coloured light play on the buildings of the Central and Wan Chai skylines, a sight best appreciated from the promenade of Tsim Sha Tsui. 

The latest debutant on that striking skyline is the highest to date, the 88-storey International Finance Centre complex, housing the just-opened Four Seasons hotel. 

Across the harbour, another luxury hotel, the InterContinental has undergone a US$30 million renovation.   

"All the new hotels means greater competition, which is good for Hong Kong and good for the consumer," says general manager Jean Jacques Reibel.